Remarks at an IMPAC 2000 Reception - Transcript

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 18, 2000

September 14, 2000

Thank you very much. Well first of all, I want to thank all of you for supporting this endeavor, and I want to thank, as David did--Ken, thank you. I have--you have come a long way since we had that dinner. I think it was what we ate that night that did it. [Laughter]

I want to thank Martin for all the work that he's done, and as your predecessor and also as Patrick Kennedy's predecessor. He was 7 feet tall when he started this job. And thank you, Vic Fazio, my longtime friend. I want to say a special word of appreciation to David Bonior. I did not know him very well when I got elected President, and one of the things that I will always treasure about these last 8 years is the relationship that he and I developed. I like him, and I admire his wife so much, and I feel about him a little bit the way I do about Nancy Pelosi. I love them when they are with me, and I love them when they are not--[laughter]--because, you know, both of them are so convicted, and they believe things, and they care about things, and they stick their necks out. And it's especially hard for him because he's in a district where he has to pay a price for every vote of conscience he casts, and he does it anyway. I want to thank you.

Probably more than anyone in America, I know how important this endeavor is. That's why I showed up tonight, besides the fact that I told Ken I would. [Laughter] When we had a majority in the Congress, we passed the economic plan that started this whole roll we've been on: the crime bill that played a major role in getting us the lowest violent crime rate in 27 years; the Brady bill, which has kept guns out of the hands of half a million felons, fugitives, and stalkers; the AmeriCorps bill, which has now given way over 150,000 young people a chance to serve in their community and earn money to go to college; the family medical leave act, which has helped about 25 million Americans to take some time off when a newborn baby was in the family or a parent was sick, without losing their job; and the beginning of one of the lesser known achievements that we've made together, which is a systematic attempt to reform Federal education policy, to concentrate on standards and results and effective investment in reform.

And I know what a difference it makes. This is an unusual and, in effect, a really kind of a wonderful time in my life. Earlier this year, I got to cast what well may be my last vote as a citizen of my native State for Al Gore for President, in the Democratic primary, and Tuesday I got to vote for my wife for the first time, which was an immense thrill.

And last night, when I watched the debate, I realize now what she went through all those years watching me. Is he going to fall over? Is he going to smile? Should he slug back? Should he just keep smiling? [Laughter] It's amazing, it's really been--so, now, my family has a new candidate, my party has a new leader, and I have become the Cheerleader in Chief, and I like it.

But I just want to say, all of you know how important this is, or you wouldn't be here. But what Ken said is really worth remembering. I think we're going to do well in these elections if we can continue to clarify the choices, because the American people want this prosperity to continue, but they don't want us to be in idle. They want us to take on the big challenges out there.

I think we have an excellent chance, and I've worked as hard as I could for the Senate candidates, for the House candidates, for the two committees, as well as to help our party and our nominees. But what I can tell you is that in spite of all the good things that have happened, the challenges that are out there are really big, and they cannot--and no American should expect President Gore, Vice President Lieberman, and a Democratic House and Senate to deal with them all in a year.

You know, when all the baby boomers retire, which will start in about 8 years, for the ones that take early Social Security, and go on for 18 to 20 more years, there will only be two people working for every one person on Social Security, although the Congress, thank you very much, took the earnings limit off Social Security. And now more people will be able to work in their later years, and that's good.

We have to--and with all these advances in health care, we're going to have huge challenges to figure out. How do we redefine aging in America? Yes, how do we save Social Security? How do we save Medicare? How do we add a prescription drug benefit? It's unconscionable that it doesn't exist already; we would have it now, if we had a Democratic Congress.

But how are we going to deal with a country, that is, in terms of age distribution, radically different from anything we've ever known and will be for 20 years, maybe 30 years, and then it will all start to get back to a normal distribution? We've got the most diverse student population we've ever had. It's a wonder, and we have actually learned how to turn around failing schools.

We know how to do it now, and it took probably 15 years of serious effort. But I was in a school in New York the other day, a grade school where, 2 years ago--listen to this--2 years ago 80 percent of the kids were doing reading and math below grade level in Harlem. Two years later 76 percent of the kids are doing reading and math at or above grade level--in just 2 years.