pd02mr98 Proclamation 7069--American Red Cross Month, 1998...

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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]


[Page i-iii]
 
Monday, March 2, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 9
Pages 303-349
 
Contents

[[Page i]]

Weekly Compilation of

Presidential

Documents



[[Page ii]]

  

  


Addresses and Remarks

    California
        Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in San Francisco--
            326, 330
        Roundtable discussion in Oakland--339
        Technology '98 Conference in San Francisco--336
    Democratic Governors' Association dinner--312
    Florida, touring tornado damage in Kissimmee--324
    National Council of Jewish Women--316
    National Governors' Association--305
    Radio address--303
    U.N. Secretary-General Annan's mission to Iraq--307

Communications to Congress

    Campaign finance reform legislation, letter--303
    Chemical and biological weapons defense, letter transmitting 
        report--324
    Corporation for Public Broadcasting, message transmitting report--
        336
    Cuba, message transmitting notice--336
    Loan guarantees to Israel program, message transmitting report--325
    Ordering the selected Reserve of the Armed Forces to active duty, 
        message transmitting Executive order--323

Communications to Federal Agencies

    Certification for major illicit drug producing and drug transit 
        countries, memorandum--343
    Helping schools end social promotions, memorandum--310
    Federal Communications Commission, letter to Chairman--344
    Federal Election Commission, letter--345

Executive Orders

    Ordering the Selected Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty--
        323
    Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of 
        Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents--315

Interviews With the News Media

    Exchange with reporters in the Oval Office--307

Notices

    Continuation of the National Emergency Relating to Cuba and of the 
        Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage 
        and Movement of Vessels--335

Proclamations

    American Red Cross Month--345
    Irish-American Heritage Month--346
    Save Your Vision Week--343

       (Continued on the inside of the back cover.)

Editor's Note: The President was in Salt Lake City, UT, on February 27, 
the closing date of this issue. Releases and announcements issued by the 
Office of the Press Secretary but not received in time for inclusion in 
this issue will be printed next week.



              WEEKLY COMPILATION OF
          ------------------------------
              PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408, the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents contains statements, messages, and
other Presidential materials released by the White House during the 
preceding week.

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is published pursuant to
the authority contained in the Federal Register Act (49 Stat. 500, as 
amended; 44 U.S.C. Ch. 15), under regulations prescribed by the 
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, approved by the 
President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part 10).

Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of 
Presidential Documents will be furnished by mail to domestic subscribers 
for $80.00 per year ($137.00 for mailing first class) and to foreign
subscribers for $93.75 per year, payable to the Superintendent of 
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The charge 
for a single copy is $3.00 ($3.75 for foreign mailing).

There are no restrictions on the republication of material appearing in 
the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.


[[Page iii]]

Contents--Continued

Statements by the President

    Campaign finance reform legislation--323, 342
    Child care legislation, proposed--343
    Supreme Court decision not to review New Jersey's ``Megan's Law''--
        304
    Violence Against Women program, grants--344

Supplementary Materials

    Acts approved by the President--349
    Checklist of White House press releases--348
    Digest of other White House announcements--347
    Nominations submitted to the Senate--348





[[Page 303]]




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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 303]
 
Monday, March 2, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 9
Pages 303-349
 
Week Ending Friday, February 27, 1998
 
Letter to Members of the Senate on Campaign Finance Reform Legislation


February 20, 1998

Dear __________:

    Next week, the Senate is scheduled to debate campaign finance 
legislation. You will have an important opportunity to cast a vote for 
real reform of our electoral process. Today, I am writing to urge you to 
support legislation that will make our democracy work better for all 
Americans.
    The campaign finance laws were last rewritten twenty-three years 
ago. Those laws have served us well, but they have been overwhelmed by a 
flood of money and the rising cost of campaigns. Politicians have talked 
about reform for years. Now it is time to act. The McCain-Feingold bill 
puts an end to the soft money system, expands disclosure requirements, 
increases penalties for election law violations, and strengthens the 
rules for so-called independent campaign expenditures. Make no mistake: 
a vote against McCain-Feingold is a vote for soft money, for unlimited 
backdoor campaign expenditures, for the status quo.
    For these reasons, I have supported and will continue to support the 
McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and I urge the Senate to 
pass it. I also urge the Senate to reject any attempts to attach an 
amendment that would make this bill unpalatable to one party or another. 
Such an attempt is nothing less than an effort to defeat campaign 
finance reform.
    A critical mass has been reached for campaign finance reform. 
Citizen groups, spurred by business executives and civic leaders, have 
gathered one million signatures on a petition to Congress calling for 
reform. Presidents Ford, Carter, and Bush have been joined by dozens of 
former lawmakers in calling for reform.
    Today the responsibility rests in the hands of the Senate. If you 
want to strengthen our democracy, vote for the McCain-Feingold 
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
    Sincerely,
                                                  Bill Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to all Members of the Senate. This 
letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on February 21.


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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 303-304]
 
Monday, March 2, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 9
Pages 303-349
 
Week Ending Friday, February 27, 1998
 
The President's Radio Address

February 21, 1998

    Good morning. February is Black History Month, the time when we 
celebrate the rich heritage of the African-American community and 
rededicate ourselves to the value of equal opportunity for all Americans 
that is at the heart of the American ideal. Today I want to talk about 
an important step we're taking to make sure all Americans, no matter 
what their background, have a better opportunity to live healthier 
lives.
    In the last 6 years, we've worked hard to make quality health care 
more accessible and affordable and to place more emphasis on prevention. 
And this approach is working. Since 1993, our Nation's health has 
greatly improved. Infant mortality has reached an all-time low, 
childhood immunization levels are at an all-time high, and AIDS death 
rates are falling for the first time in the history of the epidemic. 
Americans are living longer and are in better health than ever before.
    This is good news we should all celebrate. But we must not be blind 
to the alarming fact that too many Americans do not share in the fruits 
of our progress, and nowhere are the divisions of race and ethnicity 
more sharply drawn than in the health of our people.
    Consider: Infant mortality rates are twice as high for African-
Americans as for white Americans; African-American men suffer from heart 
disease at nearly twice the rate 

[[Page 304]]

of whites; African-Americans are more likely to die from breast cancer 
and prostate cancer. Overall, cancer fatalities are disproportionately 
high among both Latinos and blacks. Vietnamese women are 5 times as 
likely to have cervical cancer; Chinese-Americans, 4 to 5 times as 
likely to have liver cancer. Hepatitis B is much more prominent among 
Asian-Americans than the rest of the populations. Native Americans 
suffer higher rates of infant mortality and heart disease. And for 
diabetes, Hispanic rates are twice the national average, and Native 
American rates, 3 times the national average.
    Research shows that, overall, all these groups are less likely to be 
immunized against disease, less likely to be routinely tested for 
cancer, less likely to get regular check-ups. We do not know all the 
reasons for these disturbing gaps. Perhaps inadequate education, 
disproportionate poverty, discrimination in the delivery of health 
services, cultural differences are all contributing factors. But we do 
know this: No matter what the reason, racial and ethnic disparities in 
health are unacceptable in a country that values equality and equal 
opportunity for all. And that is why we must act now with a 
comprehensive initiative that focuses on health care and prevention for 
racial and ethnic minorities.
    This is our national goal: By the year 2010, we must eliminate 
racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality, diabetes, cancer 
screening and management, heart disease, AIDS, and immunization.
    My balanced budget plan devotes an unprecedented $400 million to 
spur promising prevention and outreach programs to help us meet this 
challenge. I'm asking our top public health officials, led by Secretary 
Donna Shalala, to convene a task force to find new ways of targeting 
existing Federal programs to reduce racial and ethnic disparities. Our 
new Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, will launch a comprehensive 
campaign to educate the public and work with community leaders and 
health professionals to reach more Americans.
    These steps, along with our drive to give 5 million more children, 
many of them minorities, health insurance, and our huge increase in 
overall medical research, will bring 
us closer to our goal. But to truly eliminate these disparities and 
ensure better health for all Americans, all Americans must do their 
part.

    I'm pleased to announce that Grant-Makers in Health, a major 
coalition of over 136 philanthropic foundations across the country, is 
joining our efforts. Together, we'll host a national conference this 
spring to help solve this national problem, community by community.

    Above all, Americans must take more responsibility for our own 
health and the health of our children, for good health is the greatest 
gift God can bestow, and it is each of our duty to protect it. America 
has the best health care system in the world, but we can't take full 
pride in that system until we know that every American has the best 
health care in the world. With these steps, I'm confident that we can 

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