pd05fe01 Remarks in a Meeting With Catholic Charities...

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

[Page i-ii]
 
Monday, February 5, 2001
 
Volume 37--Number 5
Pages 231-255
 
 Contents

[[Page i]]

Weekly Compilation of

Presidential

Documents



[[Page ii]]

  

  


 Addresses and Remarks

    See also Appointments and Nominations
    Cabinet, meeting--244
    Catholic charities--243
    Congress, meetings
         Black Caucus--244
         Leadership--237, 238, 239, 243
    Energy Policy Development Group, meeting--236
    Faith-based initiative, announcement--232
    Fishing School--241
    Legislative agenda--237, 238, 239, 243
    National Prayer Breakfast--245
    New Freedom Initiative--247
    Pan Am 103 trial verdict--243
    Radio address--231
    Swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of the Treasury Paul H. O'Neill--
        241
    Virginia, Republican Congressional retreat in Williamsburg--250

 Appointments and Nominations

    White House Office, Director, Office of Faith-Based and Community 
        Initiatives, remarks--232

Communications to Congress

    Air Force operating location near Groom Lake, NV, letter--245
    Export Administration Act of 1979, lapse, letter transmitting final 
        report on the national emergency--250

Communications to Congress--Continued

    ``New Freedom Initiative,'' letter transmitting--249
    Prescription drugs, letter transmitting blueprint for assistance to 
        help Medicare beneficiaries buy--239

 Executive Orders

    Agency Responsibilities With Respect to Faith-Based and Community 
        Initiatives--233
    Establishment of White House Office of Faith-Based and Community 
        Initiatives--235

Interviews With the News Media

     Exchanges with reporters
         Cabinet Room--236, 238, 239, 244
         Oval Office--237

Proclamations

    National African American History Month--249

Supplementary Materials

     Acts approved by the President--255
     Checklist of White House press releases--255
     Digest of other White House announcements--254
     Nominations submitted to the Senate--254

  

  Editor's Note: The President was in Williamsburg, VA, on February 2, 
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
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[[Page 231]]




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

[Page 231]
 
Monday, February 5, 2001
 
Volume 37--Number 5
Pages 231-255
 
Week Ending Friday, February 2, 2001
 
The President's Radio Address


January 27, 2001

    A week ago today I received a great honor and all the great 
responsibilities that come with it. The first order of business is 
education reform, and we have started strong.
    On Tuesday I sent to Congress a package of reforms to turn last 
year's pledges into this year's laws. I want to make all of our public 
schools places of learning and high standards and achievement. Our 
country must offer every child, no matter what his or her background or 
accent, a fair start in life with a quality education.
    I also met this week with congressional leaders in both parties, and 
we found a lot of agreement on the basic goals of reform. No one is 
content with the status quo. Most are open to new ideas. Everyone agrees 
at least that the problems are serious and action is urgently needed.
    This city has heard so much talk over the years about education 
reform. So many different approaches have been tried. So many new 
programs have been created. But we need more than a few new programs; we 
need a new way of thinking. We must go back to the fundamentals of early 
reading and regular testing, local control, and accountability for 
results, clear incentives for excellence and clear consequences for 
failure. These are the elements of the plan I am proposing.
    Real reform starts by giving schools and school districts more 
authority and flexibility. We cannot expect schools to change unless 
they have the freedom to change. My plan respects the principle of local 
control. It does not try to run the schools from a central office in 
Washington. I view principals, teachers, and parents as allies in 
reform. They are ready to raise the standards, ready to take 
responsibility, and answer for results.
    Those results must be measured by testing every child every year, in 
tests developed and administered by States and local districts, not the 
Federal Government. Without yearly testing, we do not know who is 
falling behind and who needs our help. Without yearly testing, too often 
we don't find failure until it is too late. Testing allows us to help 
children early, before frustration turns into apathy.
    We need to aim high, but we also need to be realistic. Many schools, 
particularly those in poor neighborhoods, will need help to meet high 
standards. And they will have it, including a new $5 billion initiative 
over 5 years for reading instruction. The goal is to improve our public 
schools. We want them to succeed, and when they're willing to change, 
we'll give them the tools to do so.
    At the same time, we will not continue to pour taxpayers' money into 
schools that do not teach and will not change. My plan will give every 
failing school a fair chance to improve, but there will be a deadline, a 
moment of truth when parents are given better options and their children 
are given a way out.
    There are some honest differences of opinion in Congress about what 
form these options should take. I have my own plan which would help 
children in persistently failing schools to go to another public, 
private, or charter school. Others suggest different approaches, and I 
am willing to listen. But all reform must be based on a principle: 
Children and parents who have had only bad choices need better choices. 
And it is my duty as President to help them.
    In sending my plan to Congress, I ask that we act before this 
summer, when schools begin planning for the next school year. I hope to 
have the support of Republicans and Democrats alike, and I hope to have 
your support, as well.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.

[[Page 232]]


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

[Page 232-233]
 
Monday, February 5, 2001
 
Volume 37--Number 5
Pages 231-255
 
Week Ending Friday, February 2, 2001
 
Remarks Announcing the
Faith-Based Initiative

January 29, 2001

    Good morning. Thank you all for coming. I take great joy in making 
this announcement. It's going to be one of the most important 
initiatives that my administration not only discusses but implements.
    First, it's good to have so many groups represented here: religious 
and nonreligious; Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim; foundations 
and other nonprofits. I want to thank you all for coming.
    This is a collection of some of the finest America has got to offer, 
people who lead with their hearts and, in turn, have changed the 
communities in which they live for the better. This meeting is a picture 
of the strength and diversity and compassion of our country.
    This is a diverse group, but we share things in common. They provide 
more than practical help to people in need. They touch and change 
hearts. And for this, America is deeply appreciative.
    Everyone in this room knows firsthand that there are still deep 
needs and real suffering in the shadow of America's affluence. Problems 
like addiction and abandonment and gang violence, domestic violence, 
mental illness, and homelessness. We are called by conscience to 
respond.
    As I said in my Inaugural Address, compassion is the work of a 
nation, not just a government. It is more than the calling of 
politicians; it is the calling of citizens. It is citizens who turn mean 
streets into good neighborhoods. It is citizens who turn cold cities 
into real communities.
    It is one of the great goals of my administration to invigorate the 
spirit of involvement and citizenship. We will encourage faith-based and 
community programs without changing their mission. We will help all in 
their work to change hearts while keeping a commitment to pluralism.
    I approach this goal with some basic principles. Government has 
important responsibilities for public health or public order and civil 
rights, and Government will never be replaced by charities and community 
groups. Yet when we see social needs in America, my administration will 
look first to faith-based programs and community groups, which have 
proven their power to save and change lives. We will not fund the 
religious activities of any group, but when people of faith provide 
social services, we will not discriminate against them.
    As long as there are secular alternatives, faith-based charities 
should be able to compete for funding on an equal basis and in a manner 
that does not cause them to sacrifice their mission. And we will make 
sure that help goes to large organizations and to small ones, as well. 
We value large organizations with generations of experience. We also 
value neighborhood healers, who have only the scars and testimony of 
their own experience.
    Tomorrow I will begin turning these principles into a legislative 
agenda. I will send to Congress a series of ideas and proposals. Today I 
want to raise the priority and profile of these issues within my own 
administration. I want to ensure that faith-based and community groups 
will always have a place at the table in our deliberations.
    In a few moments, I will sign two Executive orders. The first 
Executive order will create a new office, called the White House Office 
of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The head of this office will 
report directly to me and be charged with important responsibilities. He 
will oversee our initiatives on this issue. He will make sure our 
Government, where it works with private groups, is fair and supportive. 
And he will highlight groups as national models so others can learn from 
them.
    The second Executive order will clear away the bureaucratic barriers 
in several important agencies that make private groups hesitate to work 
with Government. It will establish centers in five agencies--Justice, 
HUD, HHS, Labor, and Education--to ensure greater cooperation between 
the Government and the independent sector. These centers will report 
back on regulatory barriers to working with nonprofit groups, and make 
recommendations on how those barriers can be removed.
    I have put this broad effort into the hands of two exceptional 
people--first, Steve

[[Page 233]]

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