Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of the 105th Congress, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans: I think I should start by saying thanks for inviting me back. I come before you tonight with a challenge as great as any in our peacetime history and a plan of action to meet that challenge, to prepare our people for the bold new world of the 21st century. We have much to be thankful for. With 4 years of growth, we have won back the basic strength of our economy. With crime and welfare rolls declining, we are winning back our optimism, the enduring faith that we can master any difficulty. With the cold war receding and global commerce at record levels, we are helping to win an unrivaled peace and prosperity all across the world. My fellow Americans, the state of our Union is strong. But now we must rise to the decisive moment, to make a nation and a world better than any we have ever known. The new promise of the global economy, the information age, unimagined new work, life-enhancing technology, all these are ours to seize. That is our honor and our challenge. We must be shapers of events, not observers, for if we do not act, the moment will pass, and we will lose the best possibilities of our future. We face no imminent threat, but we do have an enemy. The enemy of our time is inaction. So tonight I issue a call to action: action by this Congress, action by our States, by our people, to prepare America for the 21st century; action to keep our economy and our democracy strong and working for all our people; action to strengthen education and harness the forces of technology and science; action to build stronger families and stronger communities and a safer environment; action to keep America the world's strongest force for peace, freedom, and prosperity; and above all, action to build a more perfect Union here at home. The spirit we bring to our work will make all the difference. We must be committed to the pursuit of opportunity for all Americans, responsibility from all Americans, in a community of all Americans. And we must be committed to a new kind of Government, not to solve all our problems for us but to give our people, all our people, the tools they need to make the most of their own lives. And we must work together. The people of this Nation elected us all. They want us to be partners, not partisans. They put us all right here in the same boat, they gave us all oars, and they told us to row. Now, here is the direction I believe we should take. First, we must move quickly to complete the unfinished business of our country, to balance the budget, renew our democracy, and finish the job of welfare reform. Over the last 4 years, we have brought new economic growth by investing in our people, expanding our exports, cutting our deficits, creating over 11 million new jobs, a 4-year record. Now we must keep our economy the strongest in the world. We here tonight have an historic opportunity. Let this Congress be the Congress that finally balances the budget. [ ] Thank you. In 2 days I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002. This plan will balance the budget and invest in our people while protecting Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. It will balance the budget and build on the Vice President's efforts to make our Government work better, even as it costs less. It will balance the budget and provide middle class tax relief to pay for education and health care, to help to raise a child, to buy and sell a home. Balancing the budget requires only your vote and my signature. It does not require us to rewrite our Constitution. I believe it is both unnecessary and unwise to adopt a balanced budget amendment that could cripple our country in time of economic crisis and force unwanted results, such as judges halting Social Security checks or increasing taxes. Let us at least agree, we should not pass any measure—no measure should be passed that threatens Social Security. Whatever your view on that, we all must concede: We don't need a constitutional amendment; we need action. Whatever our differences, we should balance the budget now. And then, for the long-term health of our society, we must agree to a bipartisan process to preserve Social Security and reform Medicare for the long run, so that these fundamental programs will be as strong for our children as they are for our parents. And let me say something that's not in my script tonight. I know this is not going to be easy. But I really believe one of the reasons the American people gave me a second term was to take the tough decisions in the next 4 years that will carry our country through the next 50 years. I know it is easier for me than for you to say or do. But another reason I was elected is to support all of you, without regard to party, to give you what is necessary to join in these decisions. We owe it to our country and to our future. Our second piece of unfinished business requires us to commit ourselves tonight, before the eyes of America, to finally enacting bipartisan campaign finance reform. Now, Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan have reached across party lines here to craft tough and fair reform. Their proposal would curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a level playing field between challengers and incumbents, and ban contributions from noncitizens, all corporate sources, and the other large soft money contributions that both parties receive. You know and I know that this can be delayed. And you know and I know the delay will mean the death of reform. So let's set our own deadline. Let's work together to write bipartisan campaign finance reform into law and pass McCain-Feingold by the day we celebrate the birth of our democracy, July the fourth. There is a third piece of unfinished business. Over the last 4 years, we moved a record 2 1/4 million people off the welfare rolls. Then last year, Congress enacted landmark welfare reform legislation, demanding that all able-bodied recipients assume the responsibility of moving from welfare to work. Now each and every one of us has to fulfill our responsibility, indeed, our moral obligation, to make sure that people who now must work, can work. Now we must act to meet a new goal: 2 million more people off the welfare rolls by the year 2000. Here is my plan: Tax credits and other incentives for businesses that hire people off welfare; incentives for job placement firms and States to create more jobs for welfare recipients; training, transportation, and child care to help people go to work. Now I challenge every State: Turn those welfare checks into private sector paychecks. I challenge every religious congregation, every community nonprofit, every business to hire someone off welfare. And I'd like to say especially to every employer in our country who ever criticized the old welfare system, you can't blame that old system anymore. We have torn it down. Now do your part. Give someone on welfare the chance to go to work. Tonight I am pleased to announce that five major corporations, Sprint, Monsanto, UPS, Burger King, and United Airlines, will be the first to join in a new national effort to marshal America's businesses, large and small, to create jobs so that people can move from welfare to work. We passed welfare reform. All of you know I believe we were right to do it. But no one can walk out of this Chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to finish the job. And we must join together to do something else, too, something both Republican and Democratic Governors have asked us to do, to restore basic health and disability benefits when misfortune strikes immigrants who came to this country legally, who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law. To do otherwise is simply unworthy of a great nation of immigrants. Now, looking ahead, the greatest step of all, the high threshold of the future we must now cross, and my number one priority for the next 4 years is to ensure that all Americans have the best education in the world. Let's work together to meet these three goals: Every 8-year-old must be able to read; every 12-year-old must be able to log on to the Internet; every 18-year-old must be able to go to college; and every adult American must be able to keep on learning for a lifetime. My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to these goals, $51 billion next year. But far more than money is required. I have a plan, a call to action for American education, based on these 10 principles: First, a national crusade for education standards, not Federal Government standards but national standards, representing what all our students must know to succeed in the knowledge economy of the 21st century. Every State and school must shape the curriculum to reflect these standards and train teachers to lift students up to them. To help schools meet the standards and measure their progress, we will lead an effort over the next 2 years to develop national tests of student achievement in reading and math. Tonight I issue a challenge to the Nation: Every State should adopt high national standards, and by 1999, every State should test every fourth grader in reading and every eighth grader in math to make sure these standards are met. Raising standards will not be easy, and some of our children will not be able to meet them at first. The point is not to put our children down but to lift them up. Good tests will show us who needs help, what changes in teaching to make, and which schools need to improve. They can help us end social promotions, for no child should move from grade school to junior high or junior high to high school until he or she is ready. Last month our Secretary of Education, Dick Riley, and I visited northern Illinois, where eighth-grade students from 20 school districts, in a project aptly called First in the World, took the Third International Math and Science Study. That's a test that reflects the world-class standards our children must meet for the new era. And those students in Illinois tied for first in the world in science and came in second in math. Two of them, Kristen Tanner and Chris Getsler, are here tonight, along with their teacher, Sue Winski. They're up there with the First Lady. And they prove that when we aim high and challenge our students, they will be the best in the world. Let's give them a hand. Stand up, please. [ ] Second, to have the best schools, we must have the best teachers. Most of us in this Chamber would not be here tonight without the help of those teachers; I know that I wouldn't be here. For years, many of our educators, led by North Carolina's Governor Jim Hunt and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, have worked very hard to establish nationally accepted credentials for excellence in teaching. Just 500 of these teachers have been certified since 1995. My budget will enable 100,000 more to seek national certification as master teachers. We should reward and recognize our best teachers, and as we reward them, we should quickly and fairly remove those few who don't measure up. And we should challenge more of our finest young people to consider teaching as a career. Third, we must do more to help all our children read. Forty percent—40 percent—of our 8-year-olds cannot read on their own. That's why we have just launched the America Reads initiative, to build a citizen army of one million volunteer tutors to make sure every child can read independently by the end of the third grade. We will use thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army. We want at least 100,000 college students to help, and tonight I am pleased that 60 college presidents have answered my call, pledging that thousands of their work-study students will serve for one year as reading tutors. This is also a challenge to every teacher and every principal: You must use these tutors to help students read. And it is especially a challenge to our parents: You must read with your children every night. This leads to the fourth principle: Learning begins in the first days of life. Scientists are now discovering how young children develop emotionally and intellectually from their very first days and how important it is for parents to begin immediately talking, singing, even reading to their infants. The First Lady has spent years writing about this issue, studying it. And she and I are going to convene a White House conference on early learning and the brain this spring, to explore how parents and educators can best use these startling new findings. We already know we should start teaching children before they start school. That's why this balanced budget expands Head Start to one million children by 2002. And that is why the Vice President and Mrs. Gore will host their annual family conference this June on what we can do to make sure that parents are an active part of their children's learning all the way through school. They've done a great deal to highlight the importance of family in our life, and now they're turning their attention to getting more parents involved in their children's learning all the way through school. And I thank you, Mr. Vice President, and I thank you especially, Tipper, for what you do. Fifth, every State should give parents the power to choose the right public school for their children. Their right to choose will foster competition and innovation that can make public schools better. We should also make it possible for more parents and teachers to start charter schools, schools that set and meet the highest standards and exist only as long as they do. Our plan will help America to create 3,000 of these charter schools by the next century, nearly 7 times as there are in the country today, so that parents will have even more choices in sending their children to the best schools. Sixth, character education must be taught in our schools. We must teach our children to be good citizens. And we must continue to promote order and discipline, supporting communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, remove disruptive students from the classroom, and have zero tolerance for guns and drugs in school. Seventh, we cannot expect our children to raise themselves up in schools that are literally falling down. With the student population at an all-time high and record numbers of school buildings falling into disrepair, this has now become a serious national concern. Therefore, my budget includes a new initiative, $5 billion to help communities finance $20 billion in school construction over the next 4 years. Eighth, we must make the 13th and 14th years of education, at least 2 years of college, just as universal in America by the 21st century as a high school education is today, and we must open the doors of college to all Americans. To do that, I propose America's HOPE scholarship, based on Georgia's pioneering program: 2 years of a $1,500 tax credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the typical community college. I also propose a tax deduction of up to $10,000 a year for all tuition after high school, an expanded IRA you can withdraw from tax-free for education, and the largest increase in Pell grant scholarships in 20 years. Now, this plan will give most families the ability to pay no taxes on money they save for college tuition. I ask you to pass it and give every American who works hard the chance to go to college. Ninth, in the 21st century, we must expand the frontiers of learning across a lifetime. All our people, of whatever age, must have the chance to learn new skills. Most Americans live near a community college. The roads that take them there can be paths to a better future. My "GI bill" for America's workers will transform the confusing tangle of Federal training programs into a simple skill grant to go directly into eligible workers' hands. For too long, this bill has been sitting on that desk there without action. I ask you to pass it now. Let's give more of our workers the ability to learn and to earn for a lifetime. Tenth, we must bring the power of the information age into all our schools. Last year, I challenged America to connect every classroom and library to the Internet by the year 2000, so that, for the first time in our history, children in the most isolated rural towns, the most comfortable suburbs, the poorest inner-city schools, will have the same access to the same universe of knowledge. That is my plan, a call to action for American education. Some may say that it is unusual for a President to pay this kind of attention to education. Some may say it is simply because the President and his wonderful wife have been obsessed with this subject for more years than they can recall. That is not what is driving these proposals. We must understand the significance of this endeavor. One of the greatest sources of our strength throughout the cold war was a bipartisan foreign policy. Because our future was at stake, politics stopped at the water's edge. Now I ask you and I ask all our Nation's Governors, I ask parents, teachers, and citizens all across America for a new nonpartisan commitment to education, because education is a critical national security issue for our future, and politics must stop at the schoolhouse door. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness the powerful forces of science and technology to benefit all Americans. This is the first State of the Union carried live in video over the Internet. But we've only begun to spread the benefits of a technology revolution that should become the modern birthright of every citizen. Our effort to connect every classroom is just the beginning. Now we should connect every hospital to the Internet, so that doctors can instantly share data about their patients with the best specialists in the field. And I challenge the private sector tonight to start by connecting every children's hospital as soon as possible, so that a child in bed can stay in touch with school, family, and friends. A sick child need no longer be a child alone. We must build the second generation of the Internet so that our leading universities and national laboratories can communicate in speeds 1,000 times faster than today, to develop new medical treatments, new sources of energy, new ways of working together. But we cannot stop there. As the Internet becomes our new town square, a computer in every home, a teacher of all subjects, a connection to all cultures, this will no longer be a dream but a necessity. And over the next decade, that must be our goal. We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing on with the Mars probes and the international space station, both of which will have practical applications for our everyday living. We must speed the remarkable advances in medical science. The human genome project is now decoding the genetic mysteries of life. American scientists have discovered genes linked to breast cancer and ovarian cancer and medication that stops a stroke in progress and begins to reverse its effects and treatments that dramatically lengthen the lives of people with HIV and AIDS. Since I took office, funding for AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health has increased dramatically to $1.5 billion. With new resources, NIH will now become the most powerful discovery engine for an AIDS vaccine, working with other scientists to finally end the threat of AIDS. Remember that every year— every year—we move up the discovery of an AIDS vaccine will save millions of lives around the world. We must reinforce our commitment to medical science. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must build stronger families. Over the past 4 years, the family and medical leave law has helped millions of Americans to take time off to be with their families. With new pressures on people in the way they work and live, I believe we must expand family leave so that workers can take time off for teacher conferences and a child's medical checkup. We should pass flextime, so workers can choose to be paid for overtime in income or trade it in for time off to be with their families. We must continue, step by step, to give more families access to affordable, quality health care. Forty million Americans still lack health insurance. Ten million children still lack health insurance; 80 percent of them have working parents who pay taxes. That is wrong. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to up to 5 million of those children. Since nearly half of all children who lose their insurance do so because their parents lose or change a job, my budget will also ensure that people who temporarily lose their jobs can still afford to keep their health insurance. No child should be without a doctor just because a parent is without a job. My Medicare plan modernizes Medicare, increases the life of the Trust Fund to 10 years, provides support for respite care for the many families with loved ones afflicted with Alzheimer's, and for the first time, it would fully pay for annual mammograms. Just as we ended drive-through deliveries of babies last year, we must now end the dangerous and demeaning practice of forcing women home from the hospital only hours after a mastectomy. I ask your support for bipartisan legislation to guarantee that a woman can stay in the hospital for 48 hours after a mastectomy. With us tonight is Dr. Kristen Zarfos, a Connecticut surgeon whose outrage at this practice spurred a national movement and inspired this legislation. I'd like her to stand so we can thank her for her efforts. Dr. Zarfos, thank you. [ ] In the last 4 years, we have increased child support collections by 50 percent. Now we should go further and do better by making it a felony for any parent to cross a State line in an attempt to flee from this, his or her most sacred obligation. Finally, we must also protect our children by standing firm in our determination to ban the advertising and marketing of cigarettes that endanger their lives. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must build stronger communities. We should start with safe streets. Serious crime has dropped 5 years in a row. The key has been community policing. We must finish the job of putting 100,000 community police on the streets of the United States. We should pass the victims' rights amendment to the Constitution. And I ask you to mount a full-scale assault on juvenile crime with legislation that declares war on gangs with new prosecutors and tougher penalties; extends the Brady bill so violent teen criminals will not be able to buy handguns; requires child safety locks on handguns to prevent unauthorized use; and helps to keep our schools open after hours, on weekends, and in the summer, so our young people will have someplace to go and something to say yes to. This balanced budget includes the largest antidrug effort ever, to stop drugs at their source, punish those who push them, and teach our young people that drugs are wrong, drugs are illegal, and drugs will kill them. I hope you will support it. Our growing economy has helped to revive poor urban and rural neighborhoods. But we must do more to empower them to create the conditions in which all families can flourish and to create jobs through investment by business and loans by banks. We should double the number of empowerment zones. They've already brought so much hope to communities like Detroit, where the unemployment rate has been cut in half in 4 years. We should restore contaminated urban land and buildings to productive use. We should expand the network of community development banks. And together we must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach, including private-sector tax incentives, to renew our Capital City, so that Washington is a great place to work and live and once again the proud face America shows the world. We must protect our environment in every community. In the last 4 years, we cleaned up 250 toxic waste sites, as many as in the previous 12. Now we should clean up 500 more, so that our children grow up next to parks, not poison. I urge you to pass my proposal to make big polluters live by a simple rule: If you pollute our environment, you should pay to clean it up. In the last 4 years, we strengthened our Nation's safe food and clean drinking water laws. We protected some of America's rarest, most beautiful land in Utah's Red Rocks region, created three new national parks in the California desert, and began to restore the Florida Everglades. Now we must be as vigilant with our rivers as we are with our lands. Tonight I announce that this year I will designate 10 American Heritage Rivers, to help communities alongside them revitalize their waterfronts and clean up pollution in the rivers, proving once again that we can grow the economy as we protect the environment. We must also protect our global environment, working to ban the worst toxic chemicals and to reduce the greenhouse gases that challenge our health even as they change our climate. Now, we all know that in all of our communities, some of our children simply don't have what they need to grow and learn in their own homes or schools or neighborhoods. And that means the rest of us must do more, for they are our children, too. That's why President Bush, General Colin Powell, former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros will join the Vice President and me to lead the Presidents' Summit of Service in Philadelphia in April. Our national service program, AmeriCorps, has already helped 70,000 young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Now we intend to mobilize millions of Americans to serve in thousands of ways. Citizen service is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace, and I ask your support for that endeavor. I'd like to make just one last point about our national community. Our economy is measured in numbers and statistics, and it's very important. But the enduring worth of our Nation lies in our shared values and our soaring spirit. So instead of cutting back on our modest efforts to support the arts and humanities, I believe we should stand by them and challenge our artists, musicians, and writers, challenge our museums, libraries, and theaters. We should challenge all Americans in the arts and humanities to join with our fellow citizens to make the year 2000 a national celebration of the American spirit in every community, a celebration of our common culture in the century that has passed and in the new one to come in the new millennium, so that we can remain the world's beacon not only of liberty but of creativity long after the fireworks have faded. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must master the forces of change in the world and keep American leadership strong and sure for an uncharted time. Fifty years ago, a farsighted America led in creating the institutions that secured victory in the cold war and built a growing world economy. As a result, today more people than ever embrace our ideals and share our interests. Already we have dismantled many of the blocs and barriers that divided our parents' world. For the first time, more people live under democracy than dictatorship, including every nation in our own hemisphere but one, and its day, too, will come. Now we stand at another moment of change and choice and another time to be farsighted, to bring America 50 more years of security and prosperity. In this endeavor, our first task is to help to build, for the very first time, an undivided, democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, prosperous, and at peace, America is more secure. To that end, we must expand NATO by 1999, so that countries that were once our adversaries can become our allies. At the special NATO summit this summer, that is what we will begin to do. We must strengthen NATO's Partnership For Peace with non-member allies. And we must build a stable partnership between NATO and a democratic Russia. An expanded NATO is good for America, and a Europe in which all democracies define their future not in terms of what they can do to each other but in terms of what they can do together for the good of all—that kind of Europe is good for America. Second, America must look to the East no less than to the West. Our security demands it. Americans fought three wars in Asia in this century. Our prosperity requires it. More than 2 million American jobs depend upon trade with Asia. There, too, we are helping to shape an Asia-Pacific community of cooperation, not conflict. Let our progress there not mask the peril that remains. Together with South Korea, we must advance peace talks with North Korea and bridge the cold war's last divide. And I call on Congress to fund our share of the agreement under which North Korea must continue to freeze and then dismantle its nuclear weapons program. We must pursue a deeper dialog with China for the sake of our interests and our ideals. An isolated China is not good for America; a China playing its proper role in the world is. I will go to China, and I have invited China's President to come here, not because we agree on everything but because engaging China is the best way to work on our common challenges like ending nuclear testing and to deal frankly with our fundamental differences like human rights. The American people must prosper in the global economy. We've worked hard to tear down trade barriers abroad so that we can create good jobs at home. I am proud to say that today America is once again the most competitive nation and the number one exporter in the world. Now we must act to expand our exports, especially to Asia and Latin America, two of the fastest growing regions on Earth, or be left behind as these emerging economies forge new ties with other nations. That is why we need the authority now to conclude new trade agreements that open markets to our goods and services even as we preserve our values. We need not shrink from the challenge of the global economy. After all, we have the best workers and the best products. In a truly open market, we can out-compete anyone, anywhere on Earth. But this is about more than economics. By expanding trade, we can advance the cause of freedom and democracy around the world. There is no better example of this truth than Latin America, where democracy and open markets are on the march together. That is why I will visit there in the spring to reinforce our important tie. We should all be proud that America led the effort to rescue our neighbor Mexico from its economic crisis. And we should all be proud that last month Mexico repaid the United States 3 full years ahead of schedule, with half a billion dollar profit to us. America must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace from the Middle East to Haiti, from Northern Ireland to Africa. Taking reasonable risks for peace keeps us from being drawn into far more costly conflicts later. With American leadership, the killing has stopped in Bosnia. Now the habits of peace must take hold. The new NATO force will allow reconstruction and reconciliation to accelerate. Tonight I ask Congress to continue its strong support of our troops. They are doing a remarkable job there for America, and America must do right by them. Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security. In the past 4 years, we agreed to ban—we led the way to a worldwide agreement to ban nuclear testing. With Russia, we dramatically cut nuclear arsenals, and we stopped targeting each other's citizens. We are acting to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world of landmines. We are working with other nations with renewed intensity to fight drug traffickers and to stop terrorists before they act and hold them fully accountable if they do. Now we must rise to a new test of leadership, ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. Make no mistake about it. It will make our troops safer from chemical attack. It will help us to fight terrorism. We have no more important obligations, especially in the wake of what we now know about the Gulf war. This treaty has been bipartisan from the beginning, supported by Republican and Democratic administrations and Republican and Democratic Members of Congress and already approved by 68 nations. But if we do not act by April 29th, when this convention goes into force with or without us, we will lose the chance to have Americans leading and enforcing this effort. Together we must make the Chemical Weapons Convention law, so that at last we can begin to outlaw poison gas from the Earth. Finally, we must have the tools to meet all these challenges. We must maintain a strong and ready military. We must increase funding for weapons modernization by the year 2000, and we must take good care of our men and women in uniform. They are the world's finest. We must also renew our commitment to America's diplomacy and pay our debts and dues to international financial institutions like the World Bank and to a reforming United Nations. Every dollar we devote to preventing conflicts, to promoting democracy, to stopping the spread of disease and starvation, brings a sure return in security and savings. Yet international affairs spending today is just one percent of the Federal budget, a small fraction of what America invested in diplomacy to choose leadership over escapism at the start of the cold war. If America is to continue to lead the world, we here who lead America simply must find the will to pay our way. A farsighted America moved the world to a better place over these last 50 years. And so it can be for another 50 years. But a shortsighted America will soon find its words falling on deaf ears all around the world. Almost exactly 50 years ago, in the first winter of the cold war, President Truman stood before a Republican Congress and called upon our country to meet its responsibilities of leadership. This was his warning; he said, "If we falter, we may endanger the peace of the world, and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this Nation." That Congress, led by Republicans like Senator Arthur Vandenberg, answered President Truman's call. Together, they made the commitments that strengthened our country for 50 years. Now let us do the same. Let us do what it takes to remain the indispensable nation, to keep America strong, secure, and prosperous for another 50 years. In the end, more than anything else, our world leadership grows out of the power of our example here at home, out of our ability to remain strong as one America. All over the world, people are being torn asunder by racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts that fuel fanaticism and terror. We are the world's most diverse democracy, and the world looks to us to show that it is possible to live and advance together across those kinds of differences. America has always been a nation of immigrants. From the start, a steady stream of people in search of freedom and opportunity have left their own lands to make this land their home. We started as an experiment in democracy fueled by Europeans. We have grown into an experiment in democratic diversity fueled by openness and promise. My fellow Americans, we must never, ever believe that our diversity is a weakness. It is our greatest strength. Americans speak every language, know every country. People on every continent can look to us and see the reflection of their own great potential, and they always will, as long as we strive to give all of our citizens, whatever their background, an opportunity to achieve their own greatness. We're not there yet. We still see evidence of abiding bigotry and intolerance in ugly words and awful violence, in burned churches and bombed buildings. We must fight against this, in our country and in our hearts. Just a few days before my second Inauguration, one of our country's best known pastors, Reverend Robert Schuller, suggested that I read Isaiah 58:12. Here's what it says: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in." I placed my hand on that verse when I took the oath of office, on behalf of all Americans, for no matter what our differences in our faiths, our backgrounds, our politics, we must all be repairers of the breach. I want to say a word about two other Americans who show us how. Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried yesterday, a proud American whose family came from Mexico. He was only 51 years old. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart fighting for his country in Vietnam. And he went on to serve Texas and America fighting for our future here in this Chamber. We are grateful for his service and honored that his mother, Lillie Tejeda, and his sister, Mary Alice, have come from Texas to be with us here tonight. And we welcome you. Gary Locke, the newly elected Governor of Washington State, is the first Chinese-American Governor in the history of our country. He's the proud son of two of the millions of Asian-American immigrants who have strengthened America with their hard work, family values, and good citizenship. He represents the future we can all achieve. Thank you, Governor, for being here. Please stand up. [ ] Reverend Schuller, Congressman Tejeda, Governor Locke, along with Kristen Tanner and Chris Getsler, Sue Winski and Dr. Kristen Zarfos, they're all Americans from different roots whose lives reflect the best of what we can become when we are one America. We may not share a common past, but we surely do share a common future. Building one America is our most important mission, the foundation for many generations of every other strength we must build for this new century. Money cannot buy it. Power cannot compel it. Technology cannot create it. It can only come from the human spirit. America is far more than a place. It is an idea, the most powerful idea in the history of nations. And all of us in this Chamber, we are now the bearers of that idea, leading a great people into a new world. A child born tonight will have almost no memory of the 20th century. Everything that child will know about America will be because of what we do now to build a new century. We don't have a moment to waste. Tomorrow there will be just over 1,000 days until the year 2000; 1,000 days to prepare our people; 1,000 days to work together; 1,000 days to build a bridge to a land of new promise. My fellow Americans, we have work to do. Let us seize those days and the century. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of the 105th Congress, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans: I think I should start by saying thanks for inviting me back. I come before you tonight with a challenge as great as any in our peacetime history and a plan of action to meet that challenge, to prepare our people for the bold new world of the 21st century. We have much to be thankful for. With 4 years of growth, we have won back the basic strength of our economy. With crime and welfare rolls declining, we are winning back our optimism, the enduring faith that we can master any difficulty. With the cold war receding and global commerce at record levels, we are helping to win an unrivaled peace and prosperity all across the world. My fellow Americans, the state of our Union is strong. But now we must rise to the decisive moment, to make a nation and a world better than any we have ever known. The new promise of the global economy, the information age, unimagined new work, life-enhancing technology, all these are ours to seize. That is our honor and our challenge. We must be shapers of events, not observers, for if we do not act, the moment will pass, and we will lose the best possibilities of our future. We face no imminent threat, but we do have an enemy. The enemy of our time is inaction. So tonight I issue a call to action: action by this Congress, action by our States, by our people, to prepare America for the 21st century; action to keep our economy and our democracy strong and working for all our people; action to strengthen education and harness the forces of technology and science; action to build stronger families and stronger communities and a safer environment; action to keep America the world's strongest force for peace, freedom, and prosperity; and above all, action to build a more perfect Union here at home. The spirit we bring to our work will make all the difference. We must be committed to the pursuit of opportunity for all Americans, responsibility from all Americans, in a community of all Americans. And we must be committed to a new kind of Government, not to solve all our problems for us but to give our people, all our people, the tools they need to make the most of their own lives. And we must work together. The people of this Nation elected us all. They want us to be partners, not partisans. They put us all right here in the same boat, they gave us all oars, and they told us to row. Now, here is the direction I believe we should take. First, we must move quickly to complete the unfinished business of our country, to balance the budget, renew our democracy, and finish the job of welfare reform. Over the last 4 years, we have brought new economic growth by investing in our people, expanding our exports, cutting our deficits, creating over 11 million new jobs, a 4-year record. Now we must keep our economy the strongest in the world. We here tonight have an historic opportunity. Let this Congress be the Congress that finally balances the budget. [ ] Thank you. In 2 days I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002. This plan will balance the budget and invest in our people while protecting Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. It will balance the budget and build on the Vice President's efforts to make our Government work better, even as it costs less. It will balance the budget and provide middle class tax relief to pay for education and health care, to help to raise a child, to buy and sell a home. Balancing the budget requires only your vote and my signature. It does not require us to rewrite our Constitution. I believe it is both unnecessary and unwise to adopt a balanced budget amendment that could cripple our country in time of economic crisis and force unwanted results, such as judges halting Social Security checks or increasing taxes. Let us at least agree, we should not pass any measure—no measure should be passed that threatens Social Security. Whatever your view on that, we all must concede: We do not need a constitutional amendment; we need action. Whatever our differences, we should balance the budget now. And then, for the long-term health of our society, we must agree to a bipartisan process to preserve Social Security and reform Medicare for the long run, so that these fundamental programs will be as strong for our children as they are for our parents. And let me say something that is not in my script tonight. I know this is not going to be easy. But I really believe one of the reasons the American people gave me a second term was to take the tough decisions in the next 4 years that will carry our country through the next 50 years. I know it is easier for me than for you to say or do. But another reason I was elected is to support all of you, without regard to party, to give you what is necessary to join in these decisions. We owe it to our country and to our future. Our second piece of unfinished business requires us to commit ourselves tonight, before the eyes of America, to finally enacting bipartisan campaign finance reform. Now, Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan have reached across party lines here to craft tough and fair reform. Their proposal would curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a level playing field between challengers and incumbents, and ban contributions from noncitizens, all corporate sources, and the other large soft money contributions that both parties receive. You know and I know that this can be delayed. And you know and I know the delay will mean the death of reform. So let us set our own deadline. Let us work together to write bipartisan campaign finance reform into law and pass McCain-Feingold by the day we celebrate the birth of our democracy, July the fourth. There is a third piece of unfinished business. Over the last 4 years, we moved a record 2 1/4 million people off the welfare rolls. Then last year, Congress enacted landmark welfare reform legislation, demanding that all able-bodied recipients assume the responsibility of moving from welfare to work. Now each and every one of us has to fulfill our responsibility, indeed, our moral obligation, to make sure that people who now must work, can work. Now we must act to meet a new goal: 2 million more people off the welfare rolls by the year 2000. Here is my plan: Tax credits and other incentives for businesses that hire people off welfare; incentives for job placement firms and States to create more jobs for welfare recipients; training, transportation, and child care to help people go to work. Now I challenge every State: Turn those welfare checks into private sector paychecks. I challenge every religious congregation, every community nonprofit, every business to hire someone off welfare. And I would like to say especially to every employer in our country who ever criticized the old welfare system, you cannot blame that old system anymore. We have torn it down. Now do your part. Give someone on welfare the chance to go to work. Tonight I am pleased to announce that five major corporations, Sprint, Monsanto, UPS, Burger King, and United Airlines, will be the first to join in a new national effort to marshal America's businesses, large and small, to create jobs so that people can move from welfare to work. We passed welfare reform. All of you know I believe we were right to do it. But no one can walk out of this Chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to finish the job. And we must join together to do something else, too, something both Republican and Democratic Governors have asked us to do, to restore basic health and disability benefits when misfortune strikes immigrants who came to this country legally, who work hard, pay taxes, and obey the law. To do otherwise is simply unworthy of a great nation of immigrants. Now, looking ahead, the greatest step of all, the high threshold of the future we must now cross, and my number one priority for the next 4 years is to ensure that all Americans have the best education in the world. Let us work together to meet these three goals: Every 8-year-old must be able to read; every 12-year-old must be able to log on to the Internet; every 18-year-old must be able to go to college; and every adult American must be able to keep on learning for a lifetime. My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to these goals, $51 billion next year. But far more than money is required. I have a plan, a call to action for American education, based on these 10 principles: First, a national crusade for education standards, not Federal Government standards but national standards, representing what all our students must know to succeed in the knowledge economy of the 21st century. Every State and school must shape the curriculum to reflect these standards and train teachers to lift students up to them. To help schools meet the standards and measure their progress, we will lead an effort over the next 2 years to develop national tests of student achievement in reading and math. Tonight I issue a challenge to the Nation: Every State should adopt high national standards, and by 1999, every State should test every fourth grader in reading and every eighth grader in math to make sure these standards are met. Raising standards will not be easy, and some of our children will not be able to meet them at first. The point is not to put our children down but to lift them up. Good tests will show us who needs help, what changes in teaching to make, and which schools need to improve. They can help us end social promotions, for no child should move from grade school to junior high or junior high to high school until he or she is ready. Last month our Secretary of Education, Dick Riley, and I visited northern Illinois, where eighth-grade students from 20 school districts, in a project aptly called First in the World, took the Third International Math and Science Study. That is a test that reflects the world-class standards our children must meet for the new era. And those students in Illinois tied for first in the world in science and came in second in math. Two of them, Kristen Tanner and Chris Getsler, are here tonight, along with their teacher, Sue Winski. They are up there with the First Lady. And they prove that when we aim high and challenge our students, they will be the best in the world. Let us give them a hand. Stand up, please. [ ] Second, to have the best schools, we must have the best teachers. Most of us in this Chamber would not be here tonight without the help of those teachers; I know that I would not be here. For years, many of our educators, led by North Carolina's Governor Jim Hunt and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, have worked very hard to establish nationally accepted credentials for excellence in teaching. Just 500 of these teachers have been certified since 1995. My budget will enable 100,000 more to seek national certification as master teachers. We should reward and recognize our best teachers, and as we reward them, we should quickly and fairly remove those few who do not measure up. And we should challenge more of our finest young people to consider teaching as a career. Third, we must do more to help all our children read. Forty percent—40 percent—of our 8-year-olds cannot read on their own. That is why we have just launched the America Reads initiative, to build a citizen army of one million volunteer tutors to make sure every child can read independently by the end of the third grade. We will use thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army. We want at least 100,000 college students to help, and tonight I am pleased that 60 college presidents have answered my call, pledging that thousands of their work-study students will serve for one year as reading tutors. This is also a challenge to every teacher and every principal: You must use these tutors to help students read. And it is especially a challenge to our parents: You must read with your children every night. This leads to the fourth principle: Learning begins in the first days of life. Scientists are now discovering how young children develop emotionally and intellectually from their very first days and how important it is for parents to begin immediately talking, singing, even reading to their infants. The First Lady has spent years writing about this issue, studying it. And she and I are going to convene a White House conference on early learning and the brain this spring, to explore how parents and educators can best use these startling new findings. We already know we should start teaching children before they start school. That is why this balanced budget expands Head Start to one million children by 2002. And that is why the Vice President and Mrs. Gore will host their annual family conference this June on what we can do to make sure that parents are an active part of their children's learning all the way through school. They have done a great deal to highlight the importance of family in our life, and now they are turning their attention to getting more parents involved in their children's learning all the way through school. And I thank you, Mr. Vice President, and I thank you especially, Tipper, for what you do. Fifth, every State should give parents the power to choose the right public school for their children. Their right to choose will foster competition and innovation that can make public schools better. We should also make it possible for more parents and teachers to start charter schools, schools that set and meet the highest standards and exist only as long as they do. Our plan will help America to create 3,000 of these charter schools by the next century, nearly 7 times as there are in the country today, so that parents will have even more choices in sending their children to the best schools. Sixth, character education must be taught in our schools. We must teach our children to be good citizens. And we must continue to promote order and discipline, supporting communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, remove disruptive students from the classroom, and have zero tolerance for guns and drugs in school. Seventh, we cannot expect our children to raise themselves up in schools that are literally falling down. With the student population at an all-time high and record numbers of school buildings falling into disrepair, this has now become a serious national concern. Therefore, my budget includes a new initiative, $5 billion to help communities finance $20 billion in school construction over the next 4 years. Eighth, we must make the 13th and 14th years of education, at least 2 years of college, just as universal in America by the 21st century as a high school education is today, and we must open the doors of college to all Americans. To do that, I propose America's HOPE scholarship, based on Georgia's pioneering program: 2 years of a $1,500 tax credit for college tuition, enough to pay for the typical community college. I also propose a tax deduction of up to $10,000 a year for all tuition after high school, an expanded IRA you can withdraw from tax-free for education, and the largest increase in Pell grant scholarships in 20 years. Now, this plan will give most families the ability to pay no taxes on money they save for college tuition. I ask you to pass it and give every American who works hard the chance to go to college. Ninth, in the 21st century, we must expand the frontiers of learning across a lifetime. All our people, of whatever age, must have the chance to learn new skills. Most Americans live near a community college. The roads that take them there can be paths to a better future. My "GI bill" for America's workers will transform the confusing tangle of Federal training programs into a simple skill grant to go directly into eligible workers' hands. For too long, this bill has been sitting on that desk there without action. I ask you to pass it now. Let us give more of our workers the ability to learn and to earn for a lifetime. Tenth, we must bring the power of the information age into all our schools. Last year, I challenged America to connect every classroom and library to the Internet by the year 2000, so that, for the first time in our history, children in the most isolated rural towns, the most comfortable suburbs, the poorest inner-city schools, will have the same access to the same universe of knowledge. That is my plan, a call to action for American education. Some may say that it is unusual for a President to pay this kind of attention to education. Some may say it is simply because the President and his wonderful wife have been obsessed with this subject for more years than they can recall. That is not what is driving these proposals. We must understand the significance of this endeavor. One of the greatest sources of our strength throughout the cold war was a bipartisan foreign policy. Because our future was at stake, politics stopped at the water's edge. Now I ask you and I ask all our Nation's Governors, I ask parents, teachers, and citizens all across America for a new nonpartisan commitment to education, because education is a critical national security issue for our future, and politics must stop at the schoolhouse door. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness the powerful forces of science and technology to benefit all Americans. This is the first State of the Union carried live in video over the Internet. But we have only begun to spread the benefits of a technology revolution that should become the modern birthright of every citizen. Our effort to connect every classroom is just the beginning. Now we should connect every hospital to the Internet, so that doctors can instantly share data about their patients with the best specialists in the field. And I challenge the private sector tonight to start by connecting every children's hospital as soon as possible, so that a child in bed can stay in touch with school, family, and friends. A sick child need no longer be a child alone. We must build the second generation of the Internet so that our leading universities and national laboratories can communicate in speeds 1,000 times faster than today, to develop new medical treatments, new sources of energy, new ways of working together. But we cannot stop there. As the Internet becomes our new town square, a computer in every home, a teacher of all subjects, a connection to all cultures, this will no longer be a dream but a necessity. And over the next decade, that must be our goal. We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing on with the Mars probes and the international space station, both of which will have practical applications for our everyday living. We must speed the remarkable advances in medical science. The human genome project is now decoding the genetic mysteries of life. American scientists have discovered genes linked to breast cancer and ovarian cancer and medication that stops a stroke in progress and begins to reverse its effects and treatments that dramatically lengthen the lives of people with HIV and AIDS. Since I took office, funding for AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health has increased dramatically to $1.5 billion. With new resources, NIH will now become the most powerful discovery engine for an AIDS vaccine, working with other scientists to finally end the threat of AIDS. Remember that every year— every year—we move up the discovery of an AIDS vaccine will save millions of lives around the world. We must reinforce our commitment to medical science. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must build stronger families. Over the past 4 years, the family and medical leave law has helped millions of Americans to take time off to be with their families. With new pressures on people in the way they work and live, I believe we must expand family leave so that workers can take time off for teacher conferences and a child's medical checkup. We should pass flextime, so workers can choose to be paid for overtime in income or trade it in for time off to be with their families. We must continue, step by step, to give more families access to affordable, quality health care. Forty million Americans still lack health insurance. Ten million children still lack health insurance; 80 percent of them have working parents who pay taxes. That is wrong. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to up to 5 million of those children. Since nearly half of all children who lose their insurance do so because their parents lose or change a job, my budget will also ensure that people who temporarily lose their jobs can still afford to keep their health insurance. No child should be without a doctor just because a parent is without a job. My Medicare plan modernizes Medicare, increases the life of the Trust Fund to 10 years, provides support for respite care for the many families with loved ones afflicted with Alzheimer's, and for the first time, it would fully pay for annual mammograms. Just as we ended drive-through deliveries of babies last year, we must now end the dangerous and demeaning practice of forcing women home from the hospital only hours after a mastectomy. I ask your support for bipartisan legislation to guarantee that a woman can stay in the hospital for 48 hours after a mastectomy. With us tonight is Dr. Kristen Zarfos, a Connecticut surgeon whose outrage at this practice spurred a national movement and inspired this legislation. I would like her to stand so we can thank her for her efforts. Dr. Zarfos, thank you. [ ] In the last 4 years, we have increased child support collections by 50 percent. Now we should go further and do better by making it a felony for any parent to cross a State line in an attempt to flee from this, his or her most sacred obligation. Finally, we must also protect our children by standing firm in our determination to ban the advertising and marketing of cigarettes that endanger their lives. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must build stronger communities. We should start with safe streets. Serious crime has dropped 5 years in a row. The key has been community policing. We must finish the job of putting 100,000 community police on the streets of the United States. We should pass the victims' rights amendment to the Constitution. And I ask you to mount a full-scale assault on juvenile crime with legislation that declares war on gangs with new prosecutors and tougher penalties; extends the Brady bill so violent teen criminals will not be able to buy handguns; requires child safety locks on handguns to prevent unauthorized use; and helps to keep our schools open after hours, on weekends, and in the summer, so our young people will have someplace to go and something to say yes to. This balanced budget includes the largest antidrug effort ever, to stop drugs at their source, punish those who push them, and teach our young people that drugs are wrong, drugs are illegal, and drugs will kill them. I hope you will support it. Our growing economy has helped to revive poor urban and rural neighborhoods. But we must do more to empower them to create the conditions in which all families can flourish and to create jobs through investment by business and loans by banks. We should double the number of empowerment zones. They have already brought so much hope to communities like Detroit, where the unemployment rate has been cut in half in 4 years. We should restore contaminated urban land and buildings to productive use. We should expand the network of community development banks. And together we must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach, including private-sector tax incentives, to renew our Capital City, so that Washington is a great place to work and live and once again the proud face America shows the world. We must protect our environment in every community. In the last 4 years, we cleaned up 250 toxic waste sites, as many as in the previous 12. Now we should clean up 500 more, so that our children grow up next to parks, not poison. I urge you to pass my proposal to make big polluters live by a simple rule: If you pollute our environment, you should pay to clean it up. In the last 4 years, we strengthened our Nation's safe food and clean drinking water laws. We protected some of America's rarest, most beautiful land in Utah's Red Rocks region, created three new national parks in the California desert, and began to restore the Florida Everglades. Now we must be as vigilant with our rivers as we are with our lands. Tonight I announce that this year I will designate 10 American Heritage Rivers, to help communities alongside them revitalize their waterfronts and clean up pollution in the rivers, proving once again that we can grow the economy as we protect the environment. We must also protect our global environment, working to ban the worst toxic chemicals and to reduce the greenhouse gases that challenge our health even as they change our climate. Now, we all know that in all of our communities, some of our children simply do not have what they need to grow and learn in their own homes or schools or neighborhoods. And that means the rest of us must do more, for they are our children, too. That is why President Bush, General Colin Powell, former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros will join the Vice President and me to lead the Presidents' Summit of Service in Philadelphia in April. Our national service program, AmeriCorps, has already helped 70,000 young people to work their way through college as they serve America. Now we intend to mobilize millions of Americans to serve in thousands of ways. Citizen service is an American responsibility which all Americans should embrace, and I ask your support for that endeavor. I would like to make just one last point about our national community. Our economy is measured in numbers and statistics, and it is very important. But the enduring worth of our Nation lies in our shared values and our soaring spirit. So instead of cutting back on our modest efforts to support the arts and humanities, I believe we should stand by them and challenge our artists, musicians, and writers, challenge our museums, libraries, and theaters. We should challenge all Americans in the arts and humanities to join with our fellow citizens to make the year 2000 a national celebration of the American spirit in every community, a celebration of our common culture in the century that has passed and in the new one to come in the new millennium, so that we can remain the world's beacon not only of liberty but of creativity long after the fireworks have faded. To prepare America for the 21st century, we must master the forces of change in the world and keep American leadership strong and sure for an uncharted time. Fifty years ago, a farsighted America led in creating the institutions that secured victory in the cold war and built a growing world economy. As a result, today more people than ever embrace our ideals and share our interests. Already we have dismantled many of the blocs and barriers that divided our parents' world. For the first time, more people live under democracy than dictatorship, including every nation in our own hemisphere but one, and its day, too, will come. Now we stand at another moment of change and choice and another time to be farsighted, to bring America 50 more years of security and prosperity. In this endeavor, our first task is to help to build, for the very first time, an undivided, democratic Europe. When Europe is stable, prosperous, and at peace, America is more secure. To that end, we must expand NATO by 1999, so that countries that were once our adversaries can become our allies. At the special NATO summit this summer, that is what we will begin to do. We must strengthen NATO's Partnership For Peace with non-member allies. And we must build a stable partnership between NATO and a democratic Russia. An expanded NATO is good for America, and a Europe in which all democracies define their future not in terms of what they can do to each other but in terms of what they can do together for the good of all—that kind of Europe is good for America. Second, America must look to the East no less than to the West. Our security demands it. Americans fought three wars in Asia in this century. Our prosperity requires it. More than 2 million American jobs depend upon trade with Asia. There, too, we are helping to shape an Asia-Pacific community of cooperation, not conflict. Let our progress there not mask the peril that remains. Together with South Korea, we must advance peace talks with North Korea and bridge the cold war's last divide. And I call on Congress to fund our share of the agreement under which North Korea must continue to freeze and then dismantle its nuclear weapons program. We must pursue a deeper dialog with China for the sake of our interests and our ideals. An isolated China is not good for America; a China playing its proper role in the world is. I will go to China, and I have invited China's President to come here, not because we agree on everything but because engaging China is the best way to work on our common challenges like ending nuclear testing and to deal frankly with our fundamental differences like human rights. The American people must prosper in the global economy. We have worked hard to tear down trade barriers abroad so that we can create good jobs at home. I am proud to say that today America is once again the most competitive nation and the number one exporter in the world. Now we must act to expand our exports, especially to Asia and Latin America, two of the fastest growing regions on Earth, or be left behind as these emerging economies forge new ties with other nations. That is why we need the authority now to conclude new trade agreements that open markets to our goods and services even as we preserve our values. We need not shrink from the challenge of the global economy. After all, we have the best workers and the best products. In a truly open market, we can out-compete anyone, anywhere on Earth. But this is about more than economics. By expanding trade, we can advance the because of freedom and democracy around the world. There is no better example of this truth than Latin America, where democracy and open markets are on the march together. That is why I will visit there in the spring to reinforce our important tie. We should all be proud that America led the effort to rescue our neighbor Mexico from its economic crisis. And we should all be proud that last month Mexico repaid the United States 3 full years ahead of schedule, with half a billion dollar profit to us. America must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace from the Middle East to Haiti, from Northern Ireland to Africa. Taking reasonable risks for peace keeps us from being drawn into far more costly conflicts later. With American leadership, the killing has stopped in Bosnia. Now the habits of peace must take hold. The new NATO force will allow reconstruction and reconciliation to accelerate. Tonight I ask Congress to continue its strong support of our troops. They are doing a remarkable job there for America, and America must do right by them. Fifth, we must move strongly against new threats to our security. In the past 4 years, we agreed to ban—we led the way to a worldwide agreement to ban nuclear testing. With Russia, we dramatically cut nuclear arsenals, and we stopped targeting each other's citizens. We are acting to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world of landmines. We are working with other nations with renewed intensity to fight drug traffickers and to stop terrorists before they act and hold them fully accountable if they do. Now we must rise to a new test of leadership, ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention. Make no mistake about it. It will make our troops safer from chemical attack. It will help us to fight terrorism. We have no more important obligations, especially in the wake of what we now know about the Gulf war. This treaty has been bipartisan from the beginning, supported by Republican and Democratic administrations and Republican and Democratic Members of Congress and already approved by 68 nations. But if we do not act by April 29th, when this convention goes into force with or without us, we will lose the chance to have Americans leading and enforcing this effort. Together we must make the Chemical Weapons Convention law, so that at last we can begin to outlaw poison gas from the Earth. Finally, we must have the tools to meet all these challenges. We must maintain a strong and ready military. We must increase funding for weapons modernization by the year 2000, and we must take good care of our men and women in uniform. They are the world's finest. We must also renew our commitment to America's diplomacy and pay our debts and dues to international financial institutions like the World Bank and to a reforming United Nations. Every dollar we devote to preventing conflicts, to promoting democracy, to stopping the spread of disease and starvation, brings a sure return in security and savings. Yet international affairs spending today is just one percent of the Federal budget, a small fraction of what America invested in diplomacy to choose leadership over escapism at the start of the cold war. If America is to continue to lead the world, we here who lead America simply must find the will to pay our way. A farsighted America moved the world to a better place over these last 50 years. And so it can be for another 50 years. But a shortsighted America will soon find its words falling on deaf ears all around the world. Almost exactly 50 years ago, in the first winter of the cold war, President Truman stood before a Republican Congress and called upon our country to meet its responsibilities of leadership. This was his warning; he said, "If we falter, we may endanger the peace of the world, and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this Nation." That Congress, led by Republicans like Senator Arthur Vandenberg, answered President Truman's call. Together, they made the commitments that strengthened our country for 50 years. Now let us do the same. Let us do what it takes to remain the indispensable nation, to keep America strong, secure, and prosperous for another 50 years. In the end, more than anything else, our world leadership grows out of the power of our example here at home, out of our ability to remain strong as one America. All over the world, people are being torn asunder by racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts that fuel fanaticism and terror. We are the world's most diverse democracy, and the world looks to us to show that it is possible to live and advance together across those kinds of differences. America has always been a nation of immigrants. From the start, a steady stream of people in search of freedom and opportunity have left their own lands to make this land their home. We started as an experiment in democracy fueled by Europeans. We have grown into an experiment in democratic diversity fueled by openness and promise. My fellow Americans, we must never, ever believe that our diversity is a weakness. It is our greatest strength. Americans speak every language, know every country. People on every continent can look to us and see the reflection of their own great potential, and they always will, as long as we strive to give all of our citizens, whatever their background, an opportunity to achieve their own greatness. We are not there yet. We still see evidence of abiding bigotry and intolerance in ugly words and awful violence, in burned churches and bombed buildings. We must fight against this, in our country and in our hearts. Just a few days before my second Inauguration, one of our country's best known pastors, Reverend Robert Schuller, suggested that I read Isaiah 58:12. Here is what it says: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in." I placed my hand on that verse when I took the oath of office, on behalf of all Americans, for no matter what our differences in our faiths, our backgrounds, our politics, we must all be repairers of the breach. I want to say a word about two other Americans who show us how. Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried yesterday, a proud American whose family came from Mexico. He was only 51 years old. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart fighting for his country in Vietnam. And he went on to serve Texas and America fighting for our future here in this Chamber. We are grateful for his service and honored that his mother, Lillie Tejeda, and his sister, Mary Alice, have come from Texas to be with us here tonight. And we welcome you. Gary Locke, the newly elected Governor of Washington State, is the first Chinese-American Governor in the history of our country. He is the proud son of two of the millions of Asian-American immigrants who have strengthened America with their hard work, family values, and good citizenship. He represents the future we can all achieve. Thank you, Governor, for being here. Please stand up. [ ] Reverend Schuller, Congressman Tejeda, Governor Locke, along with Kristen Tanner and Chris Getsler, Sue Winski and Dr. Kristen Zarfos, they are all Americans from different roots whose lives reflect the best of what we can become when we are one America. We may not share a common past, but we surely do share a common future. Building one America is our most important mission, the foundation for many generations of every other strength we must build for this new century. Money cannot buy it. Power cannot compel it. Technology cannot create it. It can only come from the human spirit. America is far more than a place. It is an idea, the most powerful idea in the history of nations. And all of us in this Chamber, we are now the bearers of that idea, leading a great people into a new world. A child born tonight will have almost no memory of the 20th century. Everything that child will know about America will be because of what we do now to build a new century. We do not have a moment to waste. Tomorrow there will be just over 1,000 days until the year 2000; 1,000 days to prepare our people; 1,000 days to work together; 1,000 days to build a bridge to a land of new promise. My fellow Americans, we have work to do. Let us seize those days and the century. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
speaker vice president members of the 105th congress distinguished guests and my fellow americans i think i should start by saying thanks for inviting me back i come before you tonight with a challenge as great as any in our peacetime history and a plan of action to meet that challenge to prepare our people for the bold new world of the 21st century we have much to be thankful for with 4 years of growth we have won back the basic strength of our economy with crime and welfare rolls declining we are winning back our optimism the enduring faith that we can master any difficulty with the cold war receding and global commerce at record levels we are helping to win an unrivaled peace and prosperity all across the world my fellow americans the state of our union is strong but now we must rise to the decisive moment to make a nation and a world better than any we have ever known the new promise of the global economy the information age unimagined new work technology all these are ours to seize that is our honor and our challenge we must be shapers of events not observers for if we do not act the moment will pass and we will lose the best possibilities of our future we face no imminent threat but we do have an enemy the enemy of our time is inaction so tonight i issue a call to action action by this congress action by our states by our people to prepare america for the 21st century action to keep our economy and our democracy strong and working for all our people action to strengthen education and harness the forces of technology and science action to build stronger families and stronger communities and a safer environment action to keep america the world strongest force for peace freedom and prosperity and above all action to build a more perfect union here at home the spirit we bring to our work will make all the difference we must be committed to the pursuit of opportunity for all americans responsibility from all americans in a community of all americans and we must be committed to a new kind of government not to solve all our problems for us but to give our people all our people the tools they need to make the most of their own lives and we must work together the people of this nation elected us all they want us to be partners not partisans they put us all right here in the same boat they gave us all oars and they told us to row now here is the direction i believe we should take first we must move quickly to complete the unfinished business of our country to balance the budget renew our democracy and finish the job of welfare reform over the last 4 years we have brought new economic growth by investing in our people expanding our exports cutting our deficits creating over 11 million new jobs a record now we must keep our economy the strongest in the world we here tonight have an historic opportunity let this congress be the congress that finally balances the budget thank you in 2 days i will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002 this plan will balance the budget and invest in our people while protecting medicare medicaid education and the environment it will balance the budget and build on the vice president efforts to make our government work better even as it costs less it will balance the budget and provide middle class tax relief to pay for education and health care to help to raise a child to buy and sell a home balancing the budget requires only your vote and my signature it does not require us to rewrite our constitution i believe it is both unnecessary and unwise to adopt a balanced budget amendment that could cripple our country in time of economic crisis and force unwanted results such as judges halting social security checks or increasing taxes let us at least agree we should not pass any measure should be passed that threatens social security whatever your view on that we all must concede we do not need a constitutional amendment we need action whatever our differences we should balance the budget now and then for the health of our society we must agree to a bipartisan process to preserve social security and reform medicare for the long run so that these fundamental programs will be as strong for our children as they are for our parents and let me say something that is not in my script tonight i know this is not going to be easy but i really believe one of the reasons the american people gave me a second term was to take the tough decisions in the next 4 years that will carry our country through the next 50 years i know it is easier for me than for you to say or do but another reason i was elected is to support all of you without regard to party to give you what is necessary to join in these decisions we owe it to our country and to our future our second piece of unfinished business requires us to commit ourselves tonight before the eyes of america to finally enacting bipartisan campaign finance reform now senators mccain and feingold representatives shays and meehan have reached across party lines here to craft tough and fair reform their proposal would curb spending reduce the role of special interests create a level playing field between challengers and incumbents and ban contributions from noncitizens all corporate sources and the other large soft money contributions that both parties receive you know and i know that this can be delayed and you know and i know the delay will mean the death of reform so let us set our own deadline let us work together to write bipartisan campaign finance reform into law and pass by the day we celebrate the birth of our democracy july the fourth there is a third piece of unfinished business over the last 4 years we moved a record 2 million people off the welfare rolls then last year congress enacted landmark welfare reform legislation demanding that all recipients assume the responsibility of moving from welfare to work now each and every one of us has to fulfill our responsibility indeed our moral obligation to make sure that people who now must work can work now we must act to meet a new goal 2 million more people off the welfare rolls by the year 2000 here is my plan tax credits and other incentives for businesses that hire people off welfare incentives for job placement firms and states to create more jobs for welfare recipients training transportation and child care to help people go to work now i challenge every state turn those welfare checks into private sector paychecks i challenge every religious congregation every community nonprofit every business to hire someone off welfare and i would like to say especially to every employer in our country who ever criticized the old welfare system you can not blame that old system anymore we have torn it down now do your part give someone on welfare the chance to go to work tonight i am pleased to announce that five major corporations sprint monsanto ups burger king and united airlines will be the first to join in a new national effort to marshal america businesses large and small to create jobs so that people can move from welfare to work we passed welfare reform all of you know i believe we were right to do it but no one can walk out of this chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to finish the job and we must join together to do something else too something both republican and democratic governors have asked us to do to restore basic health and disability benefits when misfortune strikes immigrants who came to this country legally who work hard pay taxes and obey the law to do otherwise is simply unworthy of a great nation of immigrants now looking ahead the greatest step of all the high threshold of the future we must now cross and my number one priority for the next 4 years is to ensure that all americans have the best education in the world let us work together to meet these three goals every must be able to read every must be able to log on to the internet every must be able to go to college and every adult american must be able to keep on learning for a lifetime my balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to these goals 51 billion next year but far more than money is required i have a plan a call to action for american education based on these 10 principles first a national crusade for education standards not federal government standards but national standards representing what all our students must know to succeed in the knowledge economy of the 21st century every state and school must shape the curriculum to reflect these standards and train teachers to lift students up to them to help schools meet the standards and measure their progress we will lead an effort over the next 2 years to develop national tests of student achievement in reading and math tonight i issue a challenge to the nation every state should adopt high national standards and by 1999 every state should test every fourth grader in reading and every eighth grader in math to make sure these standards are met raising standards will not be easy and some of our children will not be able to meet them at first the point is not to put our children down but to lift them up good tests will show us who needs help what changes in teaching to make and which schools need to improve they can help us end social promotions for no child should move from grade school to junior high or junior high to high school until he or she is ready last month our secretary of education dick riley and i visited northern illinois where students from 20 school districts in a project aptly called first in the world took the third international math and science study that is a test that reflects the standards our children must meet for the new era and those students in illinois tied for first in the world in science and came in second in math two of them kristen tanner and chris getsler are here tonight along with their teacher sue winski they are up there with the first lady and they prove that when we aim high and challenge our students they will be the best in the world let us give them a hand stand up please second to have the best schools we must have the best teachers most of us in this chamber would not be here tonight without the help of those teachers i know that i would not be here for years many of our educators led by north carolina governor jim hunt and the national board for professional teaching standards have worked very hard to establish nationally accepted credentials for excellence in teaching just 500 of these teachers have been certified since 1995 my budget will enable more to seek national certification as master teachers we should reward and recognize our best teachers and as we reward them we should quickly and fairly remove those few who do not measure up and we should challenge more of our finest young people to consider teaching as a career third we must do more to help all our children read forty our can not read on their own that is why we have just launched the america reads initiative to build a citizen army of one million volunteer tutors to make sure every child can read independently by the end of the third grade we will use thousands of americorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army we want at least college students to help and tonight i am pleased that 60 college presidents have answered my call pledging that thousands of their students will serve for one year as reading tutors this is also a challenge to every teacher and every principal you must use these tutors to help students read and it is especially a challenge to our parents you must read with your children every night this leads to the fourth principle learning begins in the first days of life scientists are now discovering how young children develop emotionally and intellectually from their very first days and how important it is for parents to begin immediately talking singing even reading to their infants the first lady has spent years writing about this issue studying it and she and i are going to convene a white house conference on early learning and the brain this spring to explore how parents and educators can best use these startling new findings we already know we should start teaching children before they start school that is why this balanced budget expands head start to one million children by 2002 and that is why the vice president and gore will host their annual family conference this june on what we can do to make sure that parents are an active part of their children learning all the way through school they have done a great deal to highlight the importance of family in our life and now they are turning their attention to getting more parents involved in their children learning all the way through school and i thank you vice president and i thank you especially tipper for what you do fifth every state should give parents the power to choose the right public school for their children their right to choose will foster competition and innovation that can make public schools better we should also make it possible for more parents and teachers to start charter schools schools that set and meet the highest standards and exist only as long as they do our plan will help america to create of these charter schools by the next century nearly 7 times as there are in the country today so that parents will have even more choices in sending their children to the best schools sixth character education must be taught in our schools we must teach our children to be good citizens and we must continue to promote order and discipline supporting communities that introduce school uniforms impose curfews enforce truancy laws remove disruptive students from the classroom and have zero tolerance for guns and drugs in school seventh we can not expect our children to raise themselves up in schools that are literally falling down with the student population at an high and record numbers of school buildings falling into disrepair this has now become a serious national concern therefore my budget includes a new initiative 5 billion to help communities finance 20 billion in school construction over the next 4 years eighth we must make the 13th and 14th years of education at least 2 years of college just as universal in america by the 21st century as a high school education is today and we must open the doors of college to all americans to do that i propose america hope scholarship based on georgia pioneering program 2 years of a tax credit for college tuition enough to pay for the typical community college i also propose a tax deduction of up to a year for all tuition after high school an expanded ira you can withdraw from for education and the largest increase in pell grant scholarships in 20 years now this plan will give most families the ability to pay no taxes on money they save for college tuition i ask you to pass it and give every american who works hard the chance to go to college ninth in the 21st century we must expand the frontiers of learning across a lifetime all our people of whatever age must have the chance to learn new skills most americans live near a community college the roads that take them there can be paths to a better future my gi bill for america workers will transform the confusing tangle of federal training programs into a simple skill grant to go directly into eligible workers hands for too long this bill has been sitting on that desk there without action i ask you to pass it now let us give more of our workers the ability to learn and to earn for a lifetime tenth we must bring the power of the information age into all our schools last year i challenged america to connect every classroom and library to the internet by the year 2000 so that for the first time in our history children in the most isolated rural towns the most comfortable suburbs the poorest schools will have the same access to the same universe of knowledge that is my plan a call to action for american education some may say that it is unusual for a president to pay this kind of attention to education some may say it is simply because the president and his wonderful wife have been obsessed with this subject for more years than they can recall that is not what is driving these proposals we must understand the significance of this endeavor one of the greatest sources of our strength throughout the cold war was a bipartisan foreign policy because our future was at stake politics stopped at the water edge now i ask you and i ask all our nation governors i ask parents teachers and citizens all across america for a new nonpartisan commitment to education because education is a critical national security issue for our future and politics must stop at the schoolhouse door to prepare america for the 21st century we must harness the powerful forces of science and technology to benefit all americans this is the first state of the union carried live in video over the internet but we have only begun to spread the benefits of a technology revolution that should become the modern birthright of every citizen our effort to connect every classroom is just the beginning now we should connect every hospital to the internet so that doctors can instantly share data about their patients with the best specialists in the field and i challenge the private sector tonight to start by connecting every children hospital as soon as possible so that a child in bed can stay in touch with school family and friends a sick child need no longer be a child alone we must build the second generation of the internet so that our leading universities and national laboratories can communicate in speeds times faster than today to develop new medical treatments new sources of energy new ways of working together but we can not stop there as the internet becomes our new town square a computer in every home a teacher of all subjects a connection to all cultures this will no longer be a dream but a necessity and over the next decade that must be our goal we must continue to explore the heavens pressing on with the mars probes and the international space station both of which will have practical applications for our everyday living we must speed the remarkable advances in medical science the human genome project is now decoding the genetic mysteries of life american scientists have discovered genes linked to breast cancer and ovarian cancer and medication that stops a stroke in progress and begins to reverse its effects and treatments that dramatically lengthen the lives of people with hiv and aids since i took office funding for aids research at the national institutes of health has increased dramatically to billion with new resources nih will now become the most powerful discovery engine for an aids vaccine working with other scientists to finally end the threat of aids remember that every every move up the discovery of an aids vaccine will save millions of lives around the world we must reinforce our commitment to medical science to prepare america for the 21st century we must build stronger families over the past 4 years the family and medical leave law has helped millions of americans to take time off to be with their families with new pressures on people in the way they work and live i believe we must expand family leave so that workers can take time off for teacher conferences and a child medical checkup we should pass flextime so workers can choose to be paid for overtime in income or trade it in for time off to be with their families we must continue step by step to give more families access to affordable quality health care forty million americans still lack health insurance ten million children still lack health insurance 80 percent of them have working parents who pay taxes that is wrong my balanced budget will extend health coverage to up to 5 million of those children since nearly half of all children who lose their insurance do so because their parents lose or change a job my budget will also ensure that people who temporarily lose their jobs can still afford to keep their health insurance no child should be without a doctor just because a parent is without a job my medicare plan modernizes medicare increases the life of the trust fund to 10 years provides support for respite care for the many families with loved ones afflicted with alzheimer and for the first time it would fully pay for annual mammograms just as we ended deliveries of babies last year we must now end the dangerous and demeaning practice of forcing women home from the hospital only hours after a mastectomy i ask your support for bipartisan legislation to guarantee that a woman can stay in the hospital for 48 hours after a mastectomy with us tonight is kristen zarfos a connecticut surgeon whose outrage at this practice spurred a national movement and inspired this legislation i would like her to stand so we can thank her for her efforts zarfos thank you in the last 4 years we have increased child support collections by 50 percent now we should go further and do better by making it a felony for any parent to cross a state line in an attempt to flee from this his or her most sacred obligation finally we must also protect our children by standing firm in our determination to ban the advertising and marketing of cigarettes that endanger their lives to prepare america for the 21st century we must build stronger communities we should start with safe streets serious crime has dropped 5 years in a row the key has been community policing we must finish the job of putting community police on the streets of the united states we should pass the victims rights amendment to the constitution and i ask you to mount a assault on juvenile crime with legislation that declares war on gangs with new prosecutors and tougher penalties extends the brady bill so violent teen criminals will not be able to buy handguns requires child safety locks on handguns to prevent unauthorized use and helps to keep our schools open after hours on weekends and in the summer so our young people will have someplace to go and something to say yes to this balanced budget includes the largest antidrug effort ever to stop drugs at their source punish those who push them and teach our young people that drugs are wrong drugs are illegal and drugs will kill them i hope you will support it our growing economy has helped to revive poor urban and rural neighborhoods but we must do more to empower them to create the conditions in which all families can flourish and to create jobs through investment by business and loans by banks we should double the number of empowerment zones they have already brought so much hope to communities like detroit where the unemployment rate has been cut in half in 4 years we should restore contaminated urban land and buildings to productive use we should expand the network of community development banks and together we must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach including tax incentives to renew our capital city so that washington is a great place to work and live and once again the proud face america shows the world we must protect our environment in every community in the last 4 years we cleaned up 250 toxic waste sites as many as in the previous 12 now we should clean up 500 more so that our children grow up next to parks not poison i urge you to pass my proposal to make big polluters live by a simple rule if you pollute our environment you should pay to clean it up in the last 4 years we strengthened our nation safe food and clean drinking water laws we protected some of america rarest most beautiful land in utah red rocks region created three new national parks in the california desert and began to restore the florida everglades now we must be as vigilant with our rivers as we are with our lands tonight i announce that this year i will designate 10 american heritage rivers to help communities alongside them revitalize their waterfronts and clean up pollution in the rivers proving once again that we can grow the economy as we protect the environment we must also protect our global environment working to ban the worst toxic chemicals and to reduce the greenhouse gases that challenge our health even as they change our climate now we all know that in all of our communities some of our children simply do not have what they need to grow and learn in their own homes or schools or neighborhoods and that means the rest of us must do more for they are our children too that is why president bush general colin powell former housing secretary henry cisneros will join the vice president and me to lead the presidents summit of service in philadelphia in april our national service program americorps has already helped young people to work their way through college as they serve america now we intend to mobilize millions of americans to serve in thousands of ways citizen service is an american responsibility which all americans should embrace and i ask your support for that endeavor i would like to make just one last point about our national community our economy is measured in numbers and statistics and it is very important but the enduring worth of our nation lies in our shared values and our soaring spirit so instead of cutting back on our modest efforts to support the arts and humanities i believe we should stand by them and challenge our artists musicians and writers challenge our museums libraries and theaters we should challenge all americans in the arts and humanities to join with our fellow citizens to make the year 2000 a national celebration of the american spirit in every community a celebration of our common culture in the century that has passed and in the new one to come in the new millennium so that we can remain the world beacon not only of liberty but of creativity long after the fireworks have faded to prepare america for the 21st century we must master the forces of change in the world and keep american leadership strong and sure for an uncharted time fifty years ago a farsighted america led in creating the institutions that secured victory in the cold war and built a growing world economy as a result today more people than ever embrace our ideals and share our interests already we have dismantled many of the blocs and barriers that divided our parents world for the first time more people live under democracy than dictatorship including every nation in our own hemisphere but one and its day too will come now we stand at another moment of change and choice and another time to be farsighted to bring america 50 more years of security and prosperity in this endeavor our first task is to help to build for the very first time an undivided democratic europe when europe is stable prosperous and at peace america is more secure to that end we must expand nato by 1999 so that countries that were once our adversaries can become our allies at the special nato summit this summer that is what we will begin to do we must strengthen nato partnership for peace with allies and we must build a stable partnership between nato and a democratic russia an expanded nato is good for america and a europe in which all democracies define their future not in terms of what they can do to each other but in terms of what they can do together for the good of kind of europe is good for america second america must look to the east no less than to the west our security demands it americans fought three wars in asia in this century our prosperity requires it more than 2 million american jobs depend upon trade with asia there too we are helping to shape an community of cooperation not conflict let our progress there not mask the peril that remains together with south korea we must advance peace talks with north korea and bridge the cold war last divide and i call on congress to fund our share of the agreement under which north korea must continue to freeze and then dismantle its nuclear weapons program we must pursue a deeper dialog with china for the sake of our interests and our ideals an isolated china is not good for america a china playing its proper role in the world is i will go to china and i have invited china president to come here not because we agree on everything but because engaging china is the best way to work on our common challenges like ending nuclear testing and to deal frankly with our fundamental differences like human rights the american people must prosper in the global economy we have worked hard to tear down trade barriers abroad so that we can create good jobs at home i am proud to say that today america is once again the most competitive nation and the number one exporter in the world now we must act to expand our exports especially to asia and latin america two of the fastest growing regions on earth or be left behind as these emerging economies forge new ties with other nations that is why we need the authority now to conclude new trade agreements that open markets to our goods and services even as we preserve our values we need not shrink from the challenge of the global economy after all we have the best workers and the best products in a truly open market we can anyone anywhere on earth but this is about more than economics by expanding trade we can advance the because of freedom and democracy around the world there is no better example of this truth than latin america where democracy and open markets are on the march together that is why i will visit there in the spring to reinforce our important tie we should all be proud that america led the effort to rescue our neighbor mexico from its economic crisis and we should all be proud that last month mexico repaid the united states 3 full years ahead of schedule with half a billion dollar profit to us america must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace from the middle east to haiti from northern ireland to africa taking reasonable risks for peace keeps us from being drawn into far more costly conflicts later with american leadership the killing has stopped in bosnia now the habits of peace must take hold the new nato force will allow reconstruction and reconciliation to accelerate tonight i ask congress to continue its strong support of our troops they are doing a remarkable job there for america and america must do right by them fifth we must move strongly against new threats to our security in the past 4 years we agreed to led the way to a worldwide agreement to ban nuclear testing with russia we dramatically cut nuclear arsenals and we stopped targeting each other citizens we are acting to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands and to rid the world of landmines we are working with other nations with renewed intensity to fight drug traffickers and to stop terrorists before they act and hold them fully accountable if they do now we must rise to a new test of leadership ratifying the chemical weapons convention make no mistake about it it will make our troops safer from chemical attack it will help us to fight terrorism we have no more important obligations especially in the wake of what we now know about the gulf war this treaty has been bipartisan from the beginning supported by republican and democratic administrations and republican and democratic members of congress and already approved by 68 nations but if we do not act by april 29th when this convention goes into force with or without us we will lose the chance to have americans leading and enforcing this effort together we must make the chemical weapons convention law so that at last we can begin to outlaw poison gas from the earth finally we must have the tools to meet all these challenges we must maintain a strong and ready military we must increase funding for weapons modernization by the year 2000 and we must take good care of our men and women in uniform they are the world finest we must also renew our commitment to america diplomacy and pay our debts and dues to international financial institutions like the world bank and to a reforming united nations every dollar we devote to preventing conflicts to promoting democracy to stopping the spread of disease and starvation brings a sure return in security and savings yet international affairs spending today is just one percent of the federal budget a small fraction of what america invested in diplomacy to choose leadership over escapism at the start of the cold war if america is to continue to lead the world we here who lead america simply must find the will to pay our way a farsighted america moved the world to a better place over these last 50 years and so it can be for another 50 years but a shortsighted america will soon find its words falling on deaf ears all around the world almost exactly 50 years ago in the first winter of the cold war president truman stood before a republican congress and called upon our country to meet its responsibilities of leadership this was his warning he said if we falter we may endanger the peace of the world and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation that congress led by republicans like senator arthur vandenberg answered president truman call together they made the commitments that strengthened our country for 50 years now let us do the same let us do what it takes to remain the indispensable nation to keep america strong secure and prosperous for another 50 years in the end more than anything else our world leadership grows out of the power of our example here at home out of our ability to remain strong as one america all over the world people are being torn asunder by racial ethnic and religious conflicts that fuel fanaticism and terror we are the world most diverse democracy and the world looks to us to show that it is possible to live and advance together across those kinds of differences america has always been a nation of immigrants from the start a steady stream of people in search of freedom and opportunity have left their own lands to make this land their home we started as an experiment in democracy fueled by europeans we have grown into an experiment in democratic diversity fueled by openness and promise my fellow americans we must never ever believe that our diversity is a weakness it is our greatest strength americans speak every language know every country people on every continent can look to us and see the reflection of their own great potential and they always will as long as we strive to give all of our citizens whatever their background an opportunity to achieve their own greatness we are not there yet we still see evidence of abiding bigotry and intolerance in ugly words and awful violence in burned churches and bombed buildings we must fight against this in our country and in our hearts just a few days before my second inauguration one of our country best known pastors reverend robert schuller suggested that i read isaiah here is what it says thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach the restorer of paths to dwell in i placed my hand on that verse when i took the oath of office on behalf of all americans for no matter what our differences in our faiths our backgrounds our politics we must all be repairers of the breach i want to say a word about two other americans who show us how congressman frank tejeda was buried yesterday a proud american whose family came from mexico he was only 51 years old he was awarded the silver star the bronze star and the purple heart fighting for his country in vietnam and he went on to serve texas and america fighting for our future here in this chamber we are grateful for his service and honored that his mother lillie tejeda and his sister mary alice have come from texas to be with us here tonight and we welcome you gary locke the newly elected governor of washington state is the first governor in the history of our country he is the proud son of two of the millions of immigrants who have strengthened america with their hard work family values and good citizenship he represents the future we can all achieve thank you governor for being here please stand up reverend schuller congressman tejeda governor locke along with kristen tanner and chris getsler sue winski and kristen zarfos they are all americans from different roots whose lives reflect the best of what we can become when we are one america we may not share a common past but we surely do share a common future building one america is our most important mission the foundation for many generations of every other strength we must build for this new century money can not buy it power can not compel it technology can not create it it can only come from the human spirit america is far more than a place it is an idea the most powerful idea in the history of nations and all of us in this chamber we are now the bearers of that idea leading a great people into a new world a child born tonight will have almost no memory of the 20th century everything that child will know about america will be because of what we do now to build a new century we do not have a moment to waste tomorrow there will be just over days until the year 2000 days to prepare our people days to work together days to build a bridge to a land of new promise my fellow americans we have work to do let us seize those days and the century thank you god bless you and god bless america
speaker vice president members 105th congress distinguished guests fellow americans think start saying thanks inviting back come tonight challenge great peacetime history plan action meet challenge prepare people bold new world 21st century much thankful 4 years growth back basic strength economy crime welfare rolls declining winning back optimism enduring faith master difficulty cold war receding global commerce record levels helping win unrivaled peace prosperity across world fellow americans state union strong must rise decisive moment make nation world better ever known new promise global economy information age unimagined new work technology seize honor challenge must shapers events observers act moment pass lose best possibilities future face imminent threat enemy enemy time inaction tonight issue call action action congress action states people prepare america 21st century action keep economy democracy strong working people action strengthen education harness forces technology science action build stronger families stronger communities safer environment action keep america world strongest force peace freedom prosperity action build perfect union home spirit bring work make difference must committed pursuit opportunity americans responsibility americans community americans must committed new kind government solve problems us give people people tools need make lives must work together people nation elected us want us partners partisans put us right boat gave us oars told us row direction believe take first must move quickly complete unfinished business country balance budget renew democracy finish job welfare reform last 4 years brought new economic growth investing people expanding exports cutting deficits creating 11 million new jobs record must keep economy strongest world tonight historic opportunity let congress congress finally balances budget thank 2 days propose detailed plan balance budget 2002 plan balance budget invest people protecting medicare medicaid education environment balance budget build vice president efforts make government work better even costs less balance budget provide middle class tax relief pay education health care help raise child buy sell home balancing budget requires vote signature require us rewrite constitution believe unnecessary unwise adopt balanced budget amendment could cripple country time economic crisis force unwanted results judges halting social security checks increasing taxes let us least agree pass measure passed threatens social security whatever view must concede need constitutional amendment need action whatever differences balance budget health society must agree bipartisan process preserve social security reform medicare long run fundamental programs strong children parents let say something script tonight know going easy really believe one reasons american people gave second term take tough decisions next 4 years carry country next 50 years know easier say another reason elected support without regard party give necessary join decisions owe country future second piece unfinished business requires us commit tonight eyes america finally enacting bipartisan campaign finance reform senators mccain feingold representatives shays meehan reached across party lines craft tough fair reform proposal would curb spending reduce role special interests create level playing field challengers incumbents ban contributions noncitizens corporate sources large soft money contributions parties receive know know delayed know know delay mean death reform let us set deadline let us work together write bipartisan campaign finance reform law pass day celebrate birth democracy july fourth third piece unfinished business last 4 years moved record 2 million people welfare rolls last year congress enacted landmark welfare reform legislation demanding recipients assume responsibility moving welfare work every one us fulfill responsibility indeed moral obligation make sure people must work work must act meet new goal 2 million people welfare rolls year 2000 plan tax credits incentives businesses hire people welfare incentives job placement firms states create jobs welfare recipients training transportation child care help people go work challenge every state turn welfare checks private sector paychecks challenge every religious congregation every community nonprofit every business hire someone welfare would like say especially every employer country ever criticized old welfare system blame old system anymore torn part give someone welfare chance go work tonight pleased announce five major corporations sprint monsanto ups burger king united airlines first join new national effort marshal america businesses large small create jobs people move welfare work passed welfare reform know believe right one walk chamber clear conscience unless prepared finish job must join together something else something republican democratic governors asked us restore basic health disability benefits misfortune strikes immigrants came country legally work hard pay taxes obey law otherwise simply unworthy great nation immigrants looking ahead greatest step high threshold future must cross number one priority next 4 years ensure americans best education world let us work together meet three goals every must able read every must able log internet every must able go college every adult american must able keep learning lifetime balanced budget makes unprecedented commitment goals 51 billion next year far money required plan call action american education based 10 principles first national crusade education standards federal government standards national standards representing students must know succeed knowledge economy 21st century every state school must shape curriculum reflect standards train teachers lift students help schools meet standards measure progress lead effort next 2 years develop national tests student achievement reading math tonight issue challenge nation every state adopt high national standards 1999 every state test every fourth grader reading every eighth grader math make sure standards met raising standards easy children able meet first point put children lift good tests show us needs help changes teaching make schools need improve help us end social promotions child move grade school junior high junior high high school ready last month secretary education dick riley visited northern illinois students 20 school districts project aptly called first world took third international math science study test reflects standards children must meet new era students illinois tied first world science came second math two kristen tanner chris getsler tonight along teacher sue winski first lady prove aim high challenge students best world let us give hand stand please second best schools must best teachers us chamber would tonight without help teachers know would years many educators led north carolina governor jim hunt national board professional teaching standards worked hard establish nationally accepted credentials excellence teaching 500 teachers certified since 1995 budget enable seek national certification master teachers reward recognize best teachers reward quickly fairly remove measure challenge finest young people consider teaching career third must help children read forty read launched america reads initiative build citizen army one million volunteer tutors make sure every child read independently end third grade use thousands americorps volunteers mobilize citizen army want least college students help tonight pleased 60 college presidents answered call pledging thousands students serve one year reading tutors also challenge every teacher every principal must use tutors help students read especially challenge parents must read children every night leads fourth principle learning begins first days life scientists discovering young children develop emotionally intellectually first days important parents begin immediately talking singing even reading infants first lady spent years writing issue studying going convene white house conference early learning brain spring explore parents educators best use startling new findings already know start teaching children start school balanced budget expands head start one million children 2002 vice president gore host annual family conference june make sure parents active part children learning way school done great deal highlight importance family life turning attention getting parents involved children learning way school thank vice president thank especially tipper fifth every state give parents power choose right public school children right choose foster competition innovation make public schools better also make possible parents teachers start charter schools schools set meet highest standards exist long plan help america create charter schools next century nearly 7 times country today parents even choices sending children best schools sixth character education must taught schools must teach children good citizens must continue promote order discipline supporting communities introduce school uniforms impose curfews enforce truancy laws remove disruptive students classroom zero tolerance guns drugs school seventh expect children raise schools literally falling student population high record numbers school buildings falling disrepair become serious national concern therefore budget includes new initiative 5 billion help communities finance 20 billion school construction next 4 years eighth must make 13th 14th years education least 2 years college universal america 21st century high school education today must open doors college americans propose america hope scholarship based georgia pioneering program 2 years tax credit college tuition enough pay typical community college also propose tax deduction year tuition high school expanded ira withdraw education largest increase pell grant scholarships 20 years plan give families ability pay taxes money save college tuition ask pass give every american works hard chance go college ninth 21st century must expand frontiers learning across lifetime people whatever age must chance learn new skills americans live near community college roads take paths better future gi bill america workers transform confusing tangle federal training programs simple skill grant go directly eligible workers hands long bill sitting desk without action ask pass let us give workers ability learn earn lifetime tenth must bring power information age schools last year challenged america connect every classroom library internet year 2000 first time history children isolated rural towns comfortable suburbs poorest schools access universe knowledge plan call action american education may say unusual president pay kind attention education may say simply president wonderful wife obsessed subject years recall driving proposals must understand significance endeavor one greatest sources strength throughout cold war bipartisan foreign policy future stake politics stopped water edge ask ask nation governors ask parents teachers citizens across america new nonpartisan commitment education education critical national security issue future politics must stop schoolhouse door prepare america 21st century must harness powerful forces science technology benefit americans first state union carried live video internet begun spread benefits technology revolution become modern birthright every citizen effort connect every classroom beginning connect every hospital internet doctors instantly share data patients best specialists field challenge private sector tonight start connecting every children hospital soon possible child bed stay touch school family friends sick child need longer child alone must build second generation internet leading universities national laboratories communicate speeds times faster today develop new medical treatments new sources energy new ways working together stop internet becomes new town square computer every home teacher subjects connection cultures longer dream necessity next decade must goal must continue explore heavens pressing mars probes international space station practical applications everyday living must speed remarkable advances medical science human genome project decoding genetic mysteries life american scientists discovered genes linked breast cancer ovarian cancer medication stops stroke progress begins reverse effects treatments dramatically lengthen lives people hiv aids since took office funding aids research national institutes health increased dramatically billion new resources nih become powerful discovery engine aids vaccine working scientists finally end threat aids remember every every move discovery aids vaccine save millions lives around world must reinforce commitment medical science prepare america 21st century must build stronger families past 4 years family medical leave law helped millions americans take time families new pressures people way work live believe must expand family leave workers take time teacher conferences child medical checkup pass flextime workers choose paid overtime income trade time families must continue step step give families access affordable quality health care forty million americans still lack health insurance ten million children still lack health insurance 80 percent working parents pay taxes wrong balanced budget extend health coverage 5 million children since nearly half children lose insurance parents lose change job budget also ensure people temporarily lose jobs still afford keep health insurance child without doctor parent without job medicare plan modernizes medicare increases life trust fund 10 years provides support respite care many families loved ones afflicted alzheimer first time would fully pay annual mammograms ended deliveries babies last year must end dangerous demeaning practice forcing women home hospital hours mastectomy ask support bipartisan legislation guarantee woman stay hospital 48 hours mastectomy us tonight kristen zarfos connecticut surgeon whose outrage practice spurred national movement inspired legislation would like stand thank efforts zarfos thank last 4 years increased child support collections 50 percent go better making felony parent cross state line attempt flee sacred obligation finally must also protect children standing firm determination ban advertising marketing cigarettes endanger lives prepare america 21st century must build stronger communities start safe streets serious crime dropped 5 years row key community policing must finish job putting community police streets united states pass victims rights amendment constitution ask mount assault juvenile crime legislation declares war gangs new prosecutors tougher penalties extends brady bill violent teen criminals able buy handguns requires child safety locks handguns prevent unauthorized use helps keep schools open hours weekends summer young people someplace go something say yes balanced budget includes largest antidrug effort ever stop drugs source punish push teach young people drugs wrong drugs illegal drugs kill hope support growing economy helped revive poor urban rural neighborhoods must empower create conditions families flourish create jobs investment business loans banks double number empowerment zones already brought much hope communities like detroit unemployment rate cut half 4 years restore contaminated urban land buildings productive use expand network community development banks together must pledge tonight use empowerment approach including tax incentives renew capital city washington great place work live proud face america shows world must protect environment every community last 4 years cleaned 250 toxic waste sites many previous 12 clean 500 children grow next parks poison urge pass proposal make big polluters live simple rule pollute environment pay clean last 4 years strengthened nation safe food clean drinking water laws protected america rarest beautiful land utah red rocks region created three new national parks california desert began restore florida everglades must vigilant rivers lands tonight announce year designate 10 american heritage rivers help communities alongside revitalize waterfronts clean pollution rivers proving grow economy protect environment must also protect global environment working ban worst toxic chemicals reduce greenhouse gases challenge health even change climate know communities children simply need grow learn homes schools neighborhoods means rest us must children president bush general colin powell former housing secretary henry cisneros join vice president lead presidents summit service philadelphia april national service program americorps already helped young people work way college serve america intend mobilize millions americans serve thousands ways citizen service american responsibility americans embrace ask support endeavor would like make one last point national community economy measured numbers statistics important enduring worth nation lies shared values soaring spirit instead cutting back modest efforts support arts humanities believe stand challenge artists musicians writers challenge museums libraries theaters challenge americans arts humanities join fellow citizens make year 2000 national celebration american spirit every community celebration common culture century passed new one come new millennium remain world beacon liberty creativity long fireworks faded prepare america 21st century must master forces change world keep american leadership strong sure uncharted time fifty years ago farsighted america led creating institutions secured victory cold war built growing world economy result today people ever embrace ideals share interests already dismantled many blocs barriers divided parents world first time people live democracy dictatorship including every nation hemisphere one day come stand another moment change choice another time farsighted bring america 50 years security prosperity endeavor first task help build first time undivided democratic europe europe stable prosperous peace america secure end must expand nato 1999 countries adversaries become allies special nato summit summer begin must strengthen nato partnership peace allies must build stable partnership nato democratic russia expanded nato good america europe democracies define future terms terms together good kind europe good america second america must look east less west security demands americans fought three wars asia century prosperity requires 2 million american jobs depend upon trade asia helping shape community cooperation conflict let progress mask peril remains together south korea must advance peace talks north korea bridge cold war last divide call congress fund share agreement north korea must continue freeze dismantle nuclear weapons program must pursue deeper dialog china sake interests ideals isolated china good america china playing proper role world go china invited china president come agree everything engaging china best way work common challenges like ending nuclear testing deal frankly fundamental differences like human rights american people must prosper global economy worked hard tear trade barriers abroad create good jobs home proud say today america competitive nation number one exporter world must act expand exports especially asia latin america two fastest growing regions earth left behind emerging economies forge new ties nations need authority conclude new trade agreements open markets goods services even preserve values need shrink challenge global economy best workers best products truly open market anyone anywhere earth economics expanding trade advance freedom democracy around world better example truth latin america democracy open markets march together visit spring reinforce important tie proud america led effort rescue neighbor mexico economic crisis proud last month mexico repaid united states 3 full years ahead schedule half billion dollar profit us america must continue unrelenting force peace middle east haiti northern ireland africa taking reasonable risks peace keeps us drawn far costly conflicts later american leadership killing stopped bosnia habits peace must take hold new nato force allow reconstruction reconciliation accelerate tonight ask congress continue strong support troops remarkable job america america must right fifth must move strongly new threats security past 4 years agreed led way worldwide agreement ban nuclear testing russia dramatically cut nuclear arsenals stopped targeting citizens acting prevent nuclear materials falling wrong hands rid world landmines working nations renewed intensity fight drug traffickers stop terrorists act hold fully accountable must rise new test leadership ratifying chemical weapons convention make mistake make troops safer chemical attack help us fight terrorism important obligations especially wake know gulf war treaty bipartisan beginning supported republican democratic administrations republican democratic members congress already approved 68 nations act april 29th convention goes force without us lose chance americans leading enforcing effort together must make chemical weapons convention law last begin outlaw poison gas earth finally must tools meet challenges must maintain strong ready military must increase funding weapons modernization year 2000 must take good care men women uniform world finest must also renew commitment america diplomacy pay debts dues international financial institutions like world bank reforming united nations every dollar devote preventing conflicts promoting democracy stopping spread disease starvation brings sure return security savings yet international affairs spending today one percent federal budget small fraction america invested diplomacy choose leadership escapism start cold war america continue lead world lead america simply must find pay way farsighted america moved world better place last 50 years another 50 years shortsighted america soon find words falling deaf ears around world almost exactly 50 years ago first winter cold war president truman stood republican congress called upon country meet responsibilities leadership warning said falter may endanger peace world shall surely endanger welfare nation congress led republicans like senator arthur vandenberg answered president truman call together made commitments strengthened country 50 years let us let us takes remain indispensable nation keep america strong secure prosperous another 50 years end anything else world leadership grows power example home ability remain strong one america world people torn asunder racial ethnic religious conflicts fuel fanaticism terror world diverse democracy world looks us show possible live advance together across kinds differences america always nation immigrants start steady stream people search freedom opportunity left lands make land home started experiment democracy fueled europeans grown experiment democratic diversity fueled openness promise fellow americans must never ever believe diversity weakness greatest strength americans speak every language know every country people every continent look us see reflection great potential always long strive give citizens whatever background opportunity achieve greatness yet still see evidence abiding bigotry intolerance ugly words awful violence burned churches bombed buildings must fight country hearts days second inauguration one country best known pastors reverend robert schuller suggested read isaiah says thou shalt raise foundations many generations thou shalt called repairer breach restorer paths dwell placed hand verse took oath office behalf americans matter differences faiths backgrounds politics must repairers breach want say word two americans show us congressman frank tejeda buried yesterday proud american whose family came mexico 51 years old awarded silver star bronze star purple heart fighting country vietnam went serve texas america fighting future chamber grateful service honored mother lillie tejeda sister mary alice come texas us tonight welcome gary locke newly elected governor washington state first governor history country proud son two millions immigrants strengthened america hard work family values good citizenship represents future achieve thank governor please stand reverend schuller congressman tejeda governor locke along kristen tanner chris getsler sue winski kristen zarfos americans different roots whose lives reflect best become one america may share common past surely share common future building one america important mission foundation many generations every strength must build new century money buy power compel technology create come human spirit america far place idea powerful idea history nations us chamber bearers idea leading great people new world child born tonight almost memory 20th century everything child know america build new century moment waste tomorrow days year 2000 days prepare people days work together days build bridge land new promise fellow americans work let us seize days century thank god bless god bless america
speaker vice president member 105th congress distinguish guest fellow american think start say thanks invite back come tonight challenge great peacetime history plan action meet challenge prepare people bold new world 21st century much thankful 4 year growth back basic strength economy crime welfare roll decline win back optimism endure faith master difficulty cold war recede global commerce record level help win unrivaled peace prosperity across world fellow american state union strong must rise decisive moment make nation world well ever know new promise global economy information age unimagined new work technology seize honor challenge must shapers event observer act moment pas lose best possibility future face imminent threat enemy enemy time inaction tonight issue call action action congress action state people prepare america 21st century action keep economy democracy strong work people action strengthen education harness force technology science action build strong family strong community safer environment action keep america world strong force peace freedom prosperity action build perfect union home spirit bring work make difference must commit pursuit opportunity americans responsibility american community american must commit new kind government solve problem u give people people tool need make life must work together people nation elect u want u partner partisans put u right boat give u oar tell u row direction believe take first must move quickly complete unfinished business country balance budget renew democracy finish job welfare reform last 4 year bring new economic growth invest people expand export cut deficit create 11 million new job record must keep economy strong world tonight historic opportunity let congress congress finally balance budget thank 2 day propose detailed plan balance budget 2002 plan balance budget invest people protect medicare medicaid education environment balance budget build vice president effort make government work well even cost less balance budget provide middle class tax relief pay education health care help raise child buy sell home balancing budget require vote signature require u rewrite constitution believe unnecessary unwise adopt balance budget amendment could cripple country time economic crisis force unwanted result judge halt social security check increase tax let u least agree pas measure pass threatens social security whatever view must concede need constitutional amendment need action whatever difference balance budget health society must agree bipartisan process preserve social security reform medicare long run fundamental program strong child parent let say something script tonight know go easy really believe one reason american people give second term take tough decision next 4 year carry country next 50 year know easy say another reason elect support without regard party give necessary join decision owe country future second piece unfinished business require u commit tonight eye america finally enact bipartisan campaign finance reform senator mccain feingold representative shay meehan reach across party line craft tough fair reform proposal would curb spending reduce role special interest create level play field challenger incumbent ban contribution noncitizen corporate source large soft money contribution party receive know know delay know know delay mean death reform let u set deadline let u work together write bipartisan campaign finance reform law pas day celebrate birth democracy july fourth third piece unfinished business last 4 year move record 2 million people welfare roll last year congress enact landmark welfare reform legislation demand recipient assume responsibility move welfare work every one u fulfill responsibility indeed moral obligation make sure people must work work must act meet new goal 2 million people welfare roll year 2000 plan tax credit incentive business hire people welfare incentive job placement firm state create job welfare recipient train transportation child care help people go work challenge every state turn welfare check private sector paycheck challenge every religious congregation every community nonprofit every business hire someone welfare would like say especially every employer country ever criticize old welfare system blame old system anymore torn part give someone welfare chance go work tonight please announce five major corporation sprint monsanto ups burger king united airline first join new national effort marshal america business large small create job people move welfare work pass welfare reform know believe right one walk chamber clear conscience unless prepared finish job must join together something else something republican democratic governor ask u restore basic health disability benefit misfortune strike immigrant come country legally work hard pay tax obey law otherwise simply unworthy great nation immigrant look ahead great step high threshold future must cross number one priority next 4 year ensure americans best education world let u work together meet three goal every must able read every must able log internet every must able go college every adult american must able keep learn lifetime balanced budget make unprecedented commitment goal 51 billion next year far money require plan call action american education base 10 principle first national crusade education standard federal government standard national standard represent student must know succeed knowledge economy 21st century every state school must shape curriculum reflect standard train teacher lift student help school meet standard measure progress lead effort next 2 year develop national test student achievement read math tonight issue challenge nation every state adopt high national standard 1999 every state test every fourth grader reading every eighth grader math make sure standard meet raise standard easy child able meet first point put child lift good test show u need help change teach make school need improve help u end social promotion child move grade school junior high junior high high school ready last month secretary education dick riley visit northern illinois student 20 school district project aptly call first world take third international math science study test reflect standard child must meet new era student illinois tie first world science come second math two kristen tanner chris getsler tonight along teacher sue winski first lady prove aim high challenge student best world let u give hand stand please second best school must best teacher u chamber would tonight without help teacher know would year many educator lead north carolina governor jim hunt national board professional teaching standard work hard establish nationally accepted credential excellence teach 500 teacher certify since 1995 budget enable seek national certification master teacher reward recognize best teacher reward quickly fairly remove measure challenge fine young people consider teach career third must help child read forty read launch america read initiative build citizen army one million volunteer tutor make sure every child read independently end third grade use thousand americorps volunteer mobilize citizen army want least college student help tonight pleased 60 college president answer call pledging thousand student serve one year reading tutor also challenge every teacher every principal must use tutor help student read especially challenge parent must read child every night lead fourth principle learning begin first day life scientist discover young child develop emotionally intellectually first day important parent begin immediately talk sing even read infant first lady spent year write issue study go convene white house conference early learning brain spring explore parent educator best use startle new finding already know start teach child start school balance budget expands head start one million child 2002 vice president gore host annual family conference june make sure parent active part child learn way school do great deal highlight importance family life turn attention get parent involve child learn way school thank vice president thank especially tipper fifth every state give parent power choose right public school child right choose foster competition innovation make public school well also make possible parent teacher start charter school school set meet high standard exist long plan help america create charter school next century nearly 7 time country today parent even choice send child best school sixth character education must teach school must teach child good citizen must continue promote order discipline support community introduce school uniform impose curfew enforce truancy law remove disruptive student classroom zero tolerance gun drug school seventh expect child raise school literally fall student population high record number school building fall disrepair become serious national concern therefore budget include new initiative 5 billion help community finance 20 billion school construction next 4 year eighth must make 13th 14th year education least 2 year college universal america 21st century high school education today must open door college american propose america hope scholarship base georgia pioneer program 2 year tax credit college tuition enough pay typical community college also propose tax deduction year tuition high school expand ira withdraw education large increase pell grant scholarships 20 year plan give family ability pay tax money save college tuition ask pas give every american work hard chance go college ninth 21st century must expand frontier learn across lifetime people whatever age must chance learn new skill americans live near community college road take path well future gi bill america worker transform confuse tangle federal training program simple skill grant go directly eligible worker hand long bill sit desk without action ask pas let u give worker ability learn earn lifetime tenth must bring power information age school last year challenge america connect every classroom library internet year 2000 first time history child isolated rural town comfortable suburbs poorest school access universe knowledge plan call action american education may say unusual president pay kind attention education may say simply president wonderful wife obsess subject year recall drive proposal must understand significance endeavor one great source strength throughout cold war bipartisan foreign policy future stake politics stop water edge ask ask nation governor ask parent teacher citizen across america new nonpartisan commitment education education critical national security issue future politics must stop schoolhouse door prepare america 21st century must harness powerful force science technology benefit american first state union carry live video internet begin spread benefit technology revolution become modern birthright every citizen effort connect every classroom begin connect every hospital internet doctor instantly share data patient best specialist field challenge private sector tonight start connect every child hospital soon possible child bed stay touch school family friends sick child need long child alone must build second generation internet lead university national laboratory communicate speed time faster today develop new medical treatment new source energy new way work together stop internet become new town square computer every home teacher subject connection culture longer dream necessity next decade must goal must continue explore heaven press mar probes international space station practical application everyday living must speed remarkable advance medical science human genome project decode genetic mystery life american scientist discover gene link breast cancer ovarian cancer medication stop stroke progress begin reverse effect treatment dramatically lengthen live people hiv aid since take office funding aid research national institute health increase dramatically billion new resource nih become powerful discovery engine aid vaccine work scientist finally end threat aid remember every every move discovery aid vaccine save million life around world must reinforce commitment medical science prepare america 21st century must build strong family past 4 year family medical leave law help million american take time family new pressure people way work live believe must expand family leave worker take time teacher conference child medical checkup pas flextime worker choose pay overtime income trade time family must continue step step give family access affordable quality health care forty million american still lack health insurance ten million child still lack health insurance 80 percent work parent pay tax wrong balanced budget extend health coverage 5 million child since nearly half child lose insurance parent lose change job budget also ensure people temporarily lose job still afford keep health insurance child without doctor parent without job medicare plan modernize medicare increase life trust fund 10 year provide support respite care many family love one afflict alzheimer first time would fully pay annual mammogram end delivery baby last year must end dangerous demean practice force woman home hospital hour mastectomy ask support bipartisan legislation guarantee woman stay hospital 48 hour mastectomy u tonight kristen zarfos connecticut surgeon whose outrage practice spur national movement inspire legislation would like stand thank effort zarfos thank last 4 year increase child support collection 50 percent go well make felony parent cross state line attempt flee sacred obligation finally must also protect child stand firm determination ban advertising marketing cigarette endanger life prepare america 21st century must build strong community start safe street serious crime drop 5 year row key community police must finish job put community police street united state pass victim right amendment constitution ask mount assault juvenile crime legislation declare war gang new prosecutor tougher penalty extend brady bill violent teen criminal able buy handgun require child safety lock handguns prevent unauthorized use help keep school open hour weekend summer young people someplace go something say yes balanced budget include large antidrug effort ever stop drug source punish push teach young people drug wrong drug illegal drug kill hope support grow economy help revive poor urban rural neighborhood must empower create condition family flourish create job investment business loan bank double number empowerment zone already bring much hope community like detroit unemployment rate cut half 4 year restore contaminate urban land building productive use expand network community development bank together must pledge tonight use empowerment approach include tax incentive renew capital city washington great place work live proud face america show world must protect environment every community last 4 year clean 250 toxic waste sit many previous 12 clean 500 child grow next park poison urge pas proposal make big polluter live simple rule pollute environment pay clean last 4 year strengthen nation safe food clean drinking water law protect america rarest beautiful land utah red rock region create three new national park california desert begin restore florida everglades must vigilant river land tonight announce year designate 10 american heritage river help community alongside revitalize waterfront clean pollution river prove grow economy protect environment must also protect global environment work ban bad toxic chemical reduce greenhouse gas challenge health even change climate know communities child simply need grow learn home school neighborhood mean rest u must child president bush general colin powell former housing secretary henry cisneros join vice president lead president summit service philadelphia april national service program americorps already help young people work way college serve america intend mobilize million american serve thousand way citizen service american responsibility american embrace ask support endeavor would like make one last point national community economy measure number statistic important endure worth nation lie share value soar spirit instead cut back modest effort support art humanity believe stand challenge artist musicians writer challenge museums library theater challenge american art humanity join fellow citizen make year 2000 national celebration american spirit every community celebration common culture century pass new one come new millennium remain world beacon liberty creativity long fireworks fade prepare america 21st century must master force change world keep american leadership strong sure uncharted time fifty year ago farsighted america lead create institution secure victory cold war build grow world economy result today people ever embrace ideal share interest already dismantle many blocs barrier divide parent world first time people live democracy dictatorship include every nation hemisphere one day come stand another moment change choice another time farsighted bring america 50 year security prosperity endeavor first task help build first time undivided democratic europe europe stable prosperous peace america secure end must expand nato 1999 country adversaries become ally special nato summit summer begin must strengthen nato partnership peace ally must build stable partnership nato democratic russia expand nato good america europe democracy define future term term together good kind europe good america second america must look east less west security demand american fight three war asia century prosperity require 2 million american job depend upon trade asia help shape community cooperation conflict let progress mask peril remain together south korea must advance peace talk north korea bridge cold war last divide call congress fund share agreement north korea must continue freeze dismantle nuclear weapon program must pursue deep dialog china sake interest ideal isolate china good america china play proper role world go china invite china president come agree everything engage china best way work common challenge like end nuclear test deal frankly fundamental difference like human right american people must prosper global economy work hard tear trade barrier abroad create good job home proud say today america competitive nation number one exporter world must act expand export especially asia latin america two fast grow region earth leave behind emerge economy forge new tie nation need authority conclude new trade agreement open market good service even preserve value need shrink challenge global economy best worker best product truly open market anyone anywhere earth economics expand trade advance freedom democracy around world well example truth latin america democracy open market march together visit spring reinforce important tie proud america lead effort rescue neighbor mexico economic crisis proud last month mexico repay united state 3 full year ahead schedule half billion dollar profit u america must continue unrelenting force peace middle east haiti northern ireland africa take reasonable risk peace keep u draw far costly conflict late american leadership kill stop bosnia habit peace must take hold new nato force allow reconstruction reconciliation accelerate tonight ask congress continue strong support troop remarkable job america america must right fifth must move strongly new threat security past 4 year agree led way worldwide agreement ban nuclear test russia dramatically cut nuclear arsenal stop target citizen act prevent nuclear material fall wrong hand rid world landmines work nation renew intensity fight drug trafficker stop terrorist act hold fully accountable must rise new test leadership ratify chemical weapon convention make mistake make troop safer chemical attack help u fight terrorism important obligation especially wake know gulf war treaty bipartisan beginning support republican democratic administration republican democratic member congress already approve 68 nation act april 29th convention go force without u lose chance american lead enforce effort together must make chemical weapon convention law last begin outlaw poison gas earth finally must tool meet challenge must maintain strong ready military must increase funding weapon modernization year 2000 must take good care men woman uniform world finest must also renew commitment america diplomacy pay debt dues international financial institution like world bank reform united nation every dollar devote prevent conflict promote democracy stop spread disease starvation bring sure return security saving yet international affair spend today one percent federal budget small fraction america invest diplomacy choose leadership escapism start cold war america continue lead world lead america simply must find pay way farsighted america move world well place last 50 year another 50 year shortsighted america soon find word fall deaf ear around world almost exactly 50 year ago first winter cold war president truman stand republican congress call upon country meet responsibility leadership warning say falter may endanger peace world shall surely endanger welfare nation congress lead republican like senator arthur vandenberg answer president truman call together make commitment strengthened country 50 year let u let u take remain indispensable nation keep america strong secure prosperous another 50 year end anything else world leadership grow power example home ability remain strong one america world people torn asunder racial ethnic religious conflict fuel fanaticism terror world diverse democracy world look u show possible live advance together across kind difference america always nation immigrant start steady stream people search freedom opportunity leave land make land home start experiment democracy fuel european grown experiment democratic diversity fuel openness promise fellow american must never ever believe diversity weakness great strength american speak every language know every country people every continent look u see reflection great potential always long strive give citizen whatever background opportunity achieve greatness yet still see evidence abide bigotry intolerance ugly word awful violence burn church bombed building must fight country heart day second inauguration one country best know pastor reverend robert schuller suggest read isaiah say thou shalt raise foundation many generation thou shalt call repairer breach restorer path dwell place hand verse take oath office behalf americans matter difference faiths background politics must repairers breach want say word two american show u congressman frank tejeda bury yesterday proud american whose family come mexico 51 year old award silver star bronze star purple heart fight country vietnam go serve texas america fight future chamber grateful service honor mother lillie tejeda sister mary alice come texas u tonight welcome gary locke newly elect governor washington state first governor history country proud son two million immigrant strengthen america hard work family value good citizenship represent future achieve thank governor please stand reverend schuller congressman tejeda governor locke along kristen tanner chris getsler sue winski kristen zarfos american different root whose life reflect best become one america may share common past surely share common future build one america important mission foundation many generation every strength must build new century money buy power compel technology create come human spirit america far place idea powerful idea history nation u chamber bearer idea lead great people new world child bear tonight almost memory 20th century everything child know america build new century moment waste tomorrow day year 2000 day prepare people day work together day build bridge land new promise fellow american work let u seize day century thank god bless god bless america