pd05oc98 Remarks at a Unity '98 Dinner...

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unless we act now in a modest, measured, disciplined way--and if we 
don't do anything until the time comes to face it, and with every year 
it will become a more severe decision because you'll be closer in time 
to it--we'll have the decision of either cutting benefits for seniors so 
much that we'll erode the safety net, which today accounts for 48 
percent of the people on Social Security being lifted out of poverty--
that is, they would be in poverty were it not for Social Security.
    Or, in the alternative, we'll decide we can't bear that, and we'll 
raise taxes dramatically to maintain the old system, in which case we 
will undermine the standard of living of our children and grandchildren, 
which would be equally wrong. And that's not necessary. But in order to 
avoid it, we have to make an election-year decision and tell the 
American people the truth that we ought to do something for the next 30 
years and not for the next 30 days, and save Social Security before we 
entertain a tax cut out of this surplus. I think it is very important.
    The second issue, if we want to continue to lead the world economy, 
we at least have to pay our way. For 8 months now, I've been trying to 
get the Congress to approve our contribution to the International 
Monetary Fund. Now, it's not perfect. And the IMF is having to make 
adjustments, too, to recognize the new realities of the global economy. 
But it is the most important instrument for helping countries, first of 
all, reform as they should, and then if they do, get back on their feet; 
and, secondly, for helping us limit the contagion that is now gripping 
so many Asian economies from bleeding over into Latin America, for 
example, our fastest growing market as a country, and into countries 
that have done a good job in managing their own economies. I think it is 
absolutely imperative.
    And it's pretty hard to make an issue this, normally, esoteric, an 
issue in an election year. But I'm telling you, if we don't exercise our 
responsibility to try to stabilize the global economy, as Alan Greenspan 
said the other day, we cannot forever be an island of prosperity in a 
sea of dislocation. We have got to do this, and I feel very strongly 
about it.
    The third thing that I think is very important is that the education 
agenda be continually pushed forward. Eight months ago I put before the 
Congress an education program based on the best research about what is 
working in our schools. Among other things in the balanced budget, not 
spending the surplus, it would provide funds for another 100,000 
teachers to be hired to take average class size down to 18 in the early 
grades. It would provide a tax incentive program to rebuild, remodel, or 
build 5,000 schools at a time when it's a big problem. It has the funds 
to continue our part of hooking up all the classrooms to the Internet by 
the year 2000. It has funds for another, over a several year period, 
3,000 charter schools--and thank you, Reed Hastings, for all the work 
you've done here in California. California is leading the way, thank you 
very much.
    And a lot of other things that are very, very important, including 
paying the college expenses of 35,000 young people who can then pay 
their college expenses off by going into inner-city areas and other 
areas of teacher shortage and teaching for a few years to pay their 
expenses off. It contains the best examples of the most reform-oriented, 
big-city school system in the country, which I visited again today, I 
think for the sixth time, in Chicago, where they have ended social 
promotion. And underperforming students in what used to be thought of as 
the worst big-city school system in the country--I went to a school 
district today where 100 percent of the kids live in Cabrini-Green, one 
of the most economically challenged housing projects in America. They 
have doubled their reading scores and tripled their math scores in 4 
years.

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    And there is no social promotion, but they don't just throw the kids 
out. Every child that doesn't perform has to go to summer school. And 
they have after-school tutoring programs, so that now the summer school 
program in Chicago is the sixth biggest school district in America--the 
summer school. Over 40,000 children get 3 square meals a day there. But 
learning is beginning to occur because they have standards and 
accountability--but support. They don't treat children who don't perform 
as failures; they treat them as people who need more support and more 
help. And I think that's important.
    So we need to save Social Security. We need to fund the IMF. We need 
to pass the education program. Two other things I want to mention. I 
have worked very hard for the last 6 years, along with the Vice 
President, to persuade the American people that we can improve the 
environment and grow the economy. And compared to 6 years ago, the air 
is cleaner; the water is cleaner; the food is safer; lots of toxic waste 
dumps have been cleaned up. But there are still people who just don't 
believe it. And we're having a huge environmental fight up there, and 
protecting these environmental initiatives is very important.
    Finally, I strongly believe that Congress ought to pass a uniform 
Patients' Bill of Rights for the country. And there may even be some 
disagreement about that in this audience, but I'd just like to tell you 
what my experience is here. There are 160 million Americans in managed 
care plans. Forty-three big managed care companies are supporting this 
legislation. Why? Because they provide these protections, and they know 
that they're being punished in the marketplace for doing what they 
believe is right.
    Now, a lot of you are employers, and you're concerned about 
controlling costs, but let me just tell you some of the things that are 
actually happening in America today. In big cities, if somebody walks 
outside a hotel and gets hit by a car, depending on what the coverage of 
the plan is, they might drive past three hospitals to get to an 
emergency room covered by the plan, instead of going to the nearest 
emergency room. There are places where, even if your doctor recommends 
you see a specialist and says, ``I'm sorry. I can't do this,'' they 
still can't get to see a specialist until they go through three or four 
layers of approval.
    Many times all these horror stories you hear about people being 
denied care are not quite accurate. Actually, almost always, or more 
than half the time, the managed care company does approve the procedure, 
but the delays are so great that it's too late to do the right thing.
    Another big problem for small businesses is when the employer 
changes providers, very often immediately all the employees are affected 
by it. Now, that sounds reasonable. Except if you're pregnant, and 
you're 6 months pregnant, you shouldn't have to give up your 
obstetrician for months 7, 8, and 9. If you're in the middle of a 
chemotherapy treatment, you shouldn't have to give it up in the middle 
of the treatment. That's what this bill does. And it also protects the 
privacy of medical records, which I think is very, very important.
    So I think this Patients' Bill of Rights is the right thing to do 
for the country, and I hope it will pass. Those are the big issues, to 
me, that we ought to be fighting for.
    Now, in the election, the voters will have a clear choice. Do they 
want this kind of progress, or do they want partisanship? Do they want 
this to focus on people, or do they want this to focus on politics? And 
you can help us.
    Now, if you look at the long run--let me just mention something very 
briefly, just a few things that I wish you'd begin to think about. How 
are we going to change Social Security and Medicare so that we 
legitimately care for the elderly without bankrupting their children and 
grandchildren? What are we going to do? We'll be making those 
decisions--I hope and pray--in the first 6 months of next year. How are 
we going to do this? The Medicare Commission will complete its report, 
and we will complete our year-long work on Social Security in December.
    The second question: What else do we need to do in education, to 
really provide world-class education, K through 12, in America? 
Everybody knows we've got the best system of higher education in the 
world, how are we going to give every child, without

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regard to their circumstances in life, that opportunity?
    Third question: How can we convince people that the problem of 
climate change is real and the biggest long-term environmental 
challenge, closely related--especially in California--to the problem of 
ocean degradation, which is fast becoming a global problem? And how can 
you here, who know it to be true, convince people that there is no 
longer an iron link between old-fashioned, industrial-era energy usage 
and economic growth? Because, make no mistake about it, that, in the 
end, is what is holding back our advances in the environment. Most 
people who are in decisionmaking capacities honestly believe you can't 
grow an economy unless you use energy in the way we've been using it for 
the last 50 years, and unless you use more of the same kind. You can 
help; you can make a huge difference there.
    Fourthly, what are we going to do over the long run--and it has to 
be done fairly soon--to modify the world financial system and the world 
trading system so it works for ordinary people and it limits these huge 
boom/bust cycles without interrupting the free flow of capital? I am 
very worried that in country after country after country, if you have 
year after year after year of falling living standards, that people will 
fall out of love with free markets and free governments.
    It's only been the last 3 or 4 or 5 years that, for the first time 
in all human history, more people are living under governments that they 
chose themselves than dictatorships of one kind or another. This is a 
precious gift, this gift of freedom, but we have to prove that it will 
work for ordinary people. And the United States has to take the lead in 
that. And all of you have a huge stake in it--a huge stake in it.
    Everything you want to do with the Internet rests on the premise 
that people will get freer and freer and freer, and that it is a very 
good thing. And you know I believe that. So we have got to deal with 
that.
    And finally, I just ask you to help me--I got the last report of the 
President's Initiative on Race last week, and I've got this on my mind, 
too. If you think about what I do in foreign policy as your 
representative--we're worried about Kosovo today. What is Kosovo? It's 
an ethnic conflict between Serbs and Albanian Muslims. What is going on 
in the Middle East? It's an ethnic and religious conflict. I'm going to 
do a lot of work on that next week. What is the conflict that we're 
celebrating--I hope the final end of--in Northern Ireland? It's a 
religious conflict.
    You may have been reading--a few years ago we had this horrible war 
in Rwanda, where over three-quarters of a million people were killed in 
a tribal conflict. And now in the Congo there are five different 
countries intervening in their conflict there and part of it is the 
settling of old scores among tribal conflicts.
    Now, here in Silicon Valley, you see people from all over the world, 
from all different racial and ethnic groups and religious and cultural 
backgrounds, finding a way to work together to make common cause. And 
over the long run it may be our ability to prove that we can preserve 
and advance the American system and give deeper meaning to the 
Constitution of the United States as we grow more diverse, than anything 
else that will permit us to be a powerful force for good in the 21st 
century.
    And so I say to you, I hope you'll keep working on that, and I hope 
you'll keep lifting that up, because I see deep in the heart of people 
all over the world this almost compulsive drive to define themselves in 
negative terms, in the fact that their life has meaning because they are 
not the ``other,'' whatever the ``other'' is. And just the way you do 
things here is a constant, daily rebuke to that. And that's what America 
has to do. We have to prove that we are bringing out the best in each 
other if we hope to be a positive force in bringing out the best in 
people throughout the world.
    Finally, let me just say that I believe that the best days of this 
country are still ahead of us. And I believe that we have been given a 
precious gift, but an enormous responsibility. The real question before 
is, now that we have all this prosperity, now that we have all this 
confidence, now that we have this dominant position in the world, what 
are we going to make of this moment? Are we going to relax? Are we going 
to feed on each other? Are we going to care for each other and build a 
better tomorrow? I think I know what your

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answer is, and I want you to help me make that America's answer.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:55 p.m. at the Tech Museum of Innovation. 
In his remarks, he referred to dinner host John Doerr; Mayor Susan 
Hammer of San Jose; and Reed Hastings, chief executive officer, 
Technology Network. This item was not received in time for publication 
in the appropriate issue.


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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 1903-1904]
 
Monday, October 5, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 40
Pages 1895-1963
 
Week Ending Friday, October 2, 1998
 
The President's Radio Address

September 26, 1998

    Good morning. As everyone knows, cancer can be the cruelest of 
fates--it strikes nearly every family. It struck mine; I lost my mother 
to cancer.
    Losses like these are the reasons why tens of thousands of Americans 
are coming together today on the National Mall in Washington, DC, with 
one common purpose: to focus our entire Nation's attention on cancer. 
Gathering today are patients and survivors, families and friends, 
doctors, and Americans from all walks of life. The Vice President, who's 
been a real leader in our administration's struggle against cancer, will 
join their ranks and will speak about the specific steps we're taking to 
win the fight.
    This morning I want to talk to you about our overall vision of 
cancer care and research as we approach the 21st century. This is a time 
of striking progress, stunning breakthroughs. With unyielding speed, 
scientists are mapping the very blueprint of human life, and 
expectations of the human genome project are being exceeded by the day. 
We are closing in on the genetic causes of breast cancer, colon cancer, 
and prostate cancer. New tools for screening and diagnosis are returning 
to many patients the promise of a long and healthy life. It's no wonder 
scientists say we are turning the corner in the fight against cancer.
    For 6 years now, our administration has made a top priority of 
conquering this terrible disease. We've helped cancer patients to keep 
health coverage when they changed jobs. We've accelerated the approval 
of cancer drugs while maintaining safe standards. We've increased 
funding for cancer research and, as part of our balanced budget, 
strengthened Medicare to make the screening, prevention, and detection 
of cancer more available and more affordable.
    Still, we know that we must never stop searching for the best means 
of prevention, the most accurate diagnostic tools, the most effective 
and humane treatments, and someday soon, a cure. To that end, there are 
several steps we must take.
    First, to build on our remarkable progress I proposed an 
unprecedented, multiyear increase in funding for cancer research. As 
studies proceed, we must remember that patients, as much as scientists, 
have a critical perspective to add to any research program. That's why 
I'm announcing that all Federal cancer research programs will, by next 
year, fully integrate patients and advocates into the process of setting 
research priorities.
    Next, as we continue to unravel the genetic secrets of cancer, we 
must apply that knowledge to the detection of the disease. I am 
therefore issuing a challenge to the scientific community to develop, by 
the year 2000, new diagnostic techniques for every major kind of cancer 
so we catch it at its earliest and often most treatable stage.
    Also, we should give more patients access to cutting-edge clinical 
trials so they and researchers can get faster results. That's why I'm 
directing the National Cancer Institute to speed development of national 
clinical trials systems--a simple, accessible resource for health care 
providers and patients across our Nation. I'm also urging Congress to 
pass my proposal to cover the cost of those trials for Medicare 
beneficiaries who need them most.
    Finally, we are fighting against the leading cause of preventable 
cancer by doing everything we can to stop children from smoking. America 
needs a Congress with the courage to finish the job and pass 
comprehensive tobacco legislation.
    New technological tools, new networks of information, new research 
priorities--all are part of our overall approach to health care that 
puts the patient first. On this day, as Americans from all walks of life 
and all parts of our Nation renew our national fight against cancer, we 
do well to remember that we are doing more than curing a disease. We

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are curing the ills that disease may cause: the stigmas, the myths, the 
barriers to quality care. The concerned citizens on The Mall today show 
that we are overcoming those barriers, one by one, and at the same time 
building a stronger and healthier America.
    Thank you for listening.

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