Remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Summit on Investment in the New American City

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, April 9, 2001

April 5, 2001

Brent, thank you very much for those kind words. Mayor Morial, it's good to see you, sir. Mayor Menino of the great city of Boston, I'm sure you're thrilled with the Nomo no-hitter. [Laughter] I am pleased to see my friend, the mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee; we went to college together. Mayor Ashe, it's good to see you, sir. Tom, thank you very much--Tom Cochran, who's worked hard for the mayors association. Mayor Archer of the great city of Detroit is here with us. Pat McCrory, it's good to see the mayor of Charlotte.

I can't forget to say hello to my Mayor, the Mayor of Washington, DC, Mayor Williams. I tell you, he is a--one of my first lunches was with the Mayor, and I'm impressed. And I know the mayors who know him are impressed, as well. So Mayor, thank you. There's a couple of potholes out back that I'd like to talk to you about. [Laughter] I say that because I've always said the mayors have one of the toughest jobs in America. After all, you are closest to the people. You have to walk your neighborhoods and listen to the people who you know say, "Well, Mr. Mayor, it's good to see you; how about my road?" [Laughter] But Mayor, you're doing a great job.

I've got members of my team who are here. Cabinet Secretary Mel Martinez. Mel, thank you, sir. Ruben Barrales, who is running my Intergovernmental Relations Office. Thank you, Ruben. If Ruben doesn't return your phone call, we've got an issue. [Laughter] He'll return them. And finally, John DiIulio, who is running the Faith-Based Office. And John, I appreciate your being here, as well. And Roy Bernardi--where's Roy? Hey, Roy, good to see you. Thanks. Roy is the mayor of Syracuse, and he's coming here to work in the administration.

I respect your work. You all are practical folks who solve problems, and I'm honored that you're here. And thanks for bringing such good weather, too. I think it's the most beautiful day we've had since I've been the President of the United States, and the Rose Garden is a spectacular place to welcome you. And it's my honor to do so.

Our cities are the testing ground for the American Dream. They're places where young people go to begin their careers. They're places where new immigrants arrive to look for work and a better life. They're places where people of every background seek to fulfill the promise of our country.

When we look at our cities, we see our highest aspirations, our incredible diversity, our greatest achievements, and our most pressing challenges. Across America, in cities large and small, a generation of bold and reforming mayors have restored safety to streets and restored prosperity to our Nation's downtowns, and for that, our country is grateful.

The continued renewal of our cities re quires five commitments: better education, broader homeownership, faster economic growth, easier environmental cleanup, and stronger communities and charities. All of these goals are reflected in the budget, which the Congress is now debating.

Education gets the biggest percentage in crease of any Department in the budget that I submitted. My budget triples spending on school reading programs in year one. We triple spending on preschool reading programs in year one. Education reform costs money, and this administration is willing to spend it. But money alone does not produce reform, and that's why my plan emphasizes results and accountability. Results matter to children; they matter to parents; and they should matter to mayors. And I know they do.

Parents leave cities when they mistrust public schools. Parents stay when they have confidence in the public school system. And a sure way for a school to gain parents' confidence is to show them proven results on a yearly test. We don't test to punish children; we test to help them. In the same way, we don't test to punish urban schools, we test to renew them. Our budget helps to bring high standards to every low income school in America. It focuses on early child hood programs. It increases spending for Head Start, but it also encourages and invites innovation so that no child is left behind.

Second, my budget promotes homeowner ship. We want to give as many Americans as possible a stake in their neighborhood and a concern for its future. Yet, the sad fact is 48 percent of Hispanic- and African-American families--only 48 percent own their own homes. And we must do better in our country. My administration has proposed a renewing-the-dream tax credit to encourage investors to develop housing for low income families. This tax credit will help build 100,000 new homes in low income areas.

We also add to a new initiative called the American Dream down payment fund, to help low income people with their down payment on a home of their own. We're putting $1 billion into the American Dream fund over the next 5 years, and our goal is to make owners of 650,000 low income families. We'll bring the dignity and independence of home ownership to more and more Americans.

Third, my budget is a growth budget for small business. It is the dynamism of the entrepreneurs, many of them immigrants, that have powered the revival of American cities. But entrepreneurs in urban America, like entrepreneurs all over America, are generally unincorporated businesses. They're generally Subchapter S's or sole proprietorships and, therefore, pay taxes at the highest marginal rate.