pd08mr99 The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema of...

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next 15 years.
    A lot of you younger people, you've brought young children here 
tonight. One couple came through about to have their first child--maybe 
before I finish this speech. [Laughter] That's not a comment on how long 
the speech is going to be. [Laughter] But one of the things that worries 
me about the 21st century is one of the things that I joy in. And that 
is that more and more people are going to work, more and more people are 
having the opportunity to work, and I want that. But the most important 
work of any society is raising the children well. And we have to find a 
way to do better in the United States in helping people balance the 
demands of child-rearing and work.
    That's why I fought so hard for the family leave law. It's why I 
think it should be expanded. It's why I have given a child care 
initiative to the Congress that would help another million children get 
affordable quality child care while their parents go to work. And it's 
why we need to more vigorously enforce the law when it comes to equal 
pay for equal work for women and for men.
    I want us, in the 21st century, to live in real community, not only 
with our neighborhoods in our State but around the world. That means we 
have to protect the environment, whether it's dealing with traffic 
congestion and green space and clean air and clean water or the 
challenge of climate change. It means that we ought to give more people 
the chance to serve, whether in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, here at 
home. It means that we ought to make sure that no person is subject to 
unfair discrimination, which is why I am determined to pass the 
employment nondiscrimination act this year. These are the kinds of 
things we need to be pushing, that all of you need to support.
    And finally, let me say, in San Francisco this morning, the place 
where the United Nations was launched, I gave a speech saying that the 
United States still had to care about peace in Kosovo, in the Middle 
East, in Northern Ireland; that the United States still had to care 
about the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons, even if they 
were at most risk in other countries far from our shore; that the United 
States still had to care about poverty from Africa to the Caribbean, 
about democracy in Central America; that we cannot say we love to get on 
the Internet and talk to people around the world, we love to sell our 
products in Asia and Latin America, and pretend that economic 
globalization will take care of all the problems in the world.
    The inexorable logic of our growing closer together is that we are 
in an interdependent world. And just as we as Americans cannot fulfill 
our own dreams and destinies unless we work together, we cannot fulfill 
the dream and destiny of America unless we reach out to our friends and 
neighbors around the world.
    And so I say to you, these are the basic ideas for meeting the 
biggest challenges the United States faces. We've come a long way in the 
last 6 years. We've had a good time. We've had a better time, year-in 
and year-out, because there have been fewer people subject to abject 
anxieties. And I want to get off the stage and bring back Big Bad Voodoo 
Daddy. And I thank them for playing.
    But if you don't remember anything I say, you remember these two 
things: Number one, the best politics is to do the right thing by the 
American people. That's why we're where we are tonight, and we need to 
take advantage; we need to take advantage of

[[Page 332]]

these good times to deal with the big long-term challenges we face. And 
number two, if somebody asks you why you're a Democrat, why did you come 
here tonight, tell them, because that's the party that believes that no 
matter where you come from and what your circumstances, you ought to 
have an equal chance to live out your dream. That's the party that 
believes that no matter what our differences, what unites us is more 
important than what divides us, and we want an American family. And 
that's the party that believes that the purpose of our public life is to 
elevate the spirits and the vision and the heart of the American people.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 7:55 p.m. in the Los Angeles Room at the 
Century Plaza Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Janice Griffin, 
national vice chair, Women's Leadership Forum; Joseph P. Andrew, 
national chairman-designate, Democratic National Committee; Lara Brown 
and Paul Krekorian, cochairs, Saxophone Club, Los Angeles chapter; State 
Controller Kathleen Connell; State Assembly Speaker Antonio R. 
Villaraigosa; and Gov. Gray Davis of California and his wife, Sharon. 
This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.


<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 332-333]
 
Monday, March 8, 1999
 
Volume 35--Number 9
Pages 329-376
 
Week Ending Friday, March 5, 1999
 
The President's Radio Address

February 27, 1999

    Good morning. One of Government's first responsibilities is to keep 
our people safe. And one of the most successful Governmental efforts to 
protect the public is in the area of auto safety. Hundreds of thousands 
of lives have been saved, thanks to laws requiring safety features such 
as bumpers, seatbelts, and airbags.
    Today I want to talk about our latest efforts to make car travel 
even safer for our smallest and most vulnerable passengers. Over the 
past 20 years, child car seats have become a fact of life for millions 
of parents. Where once small children bounced around freely and 
dangerously in our cars, today the majority ride in car seats, whether 
for quick errands to the grocery store or long cross-country journeys. 
Those car seats have made a difference. Since 1975, they've saved the 
lives of about 4,000 children in motor vehicle accidents.
    But all too often car seats don't protect our children as well as 
they should. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration 
estimates that more than 70 percent of all children riding in car seats 
are at risk of injury because their seats have not been properly 
installed. Now, anyone who has ever struggled to get a car seat to fit 
snugly into a backseat knows exactly what I'm talking about.
    Most seatbelts were not designed to hold car seats, and not all 100 
models of car seats can fit all 900 types of vehicles on our road today. 
For Joe Colella's family, the consequences were tragic. Five years ago 
Joe's 3-year-old niece, Dana Hutchinson, was killed in a head-on 
collision because her car seat was incompatible with the seatbelts in 
her family's car. Ever since, so that no other family has to suffer this 
tragedy, Joe has worked full-time to improve car seat safety and to 
alert parents to the dangers of poorly fitting car seats.
    A few years ago, my administration appointed Joe to a blue-ribbon 
panel of parents, consumer groups, medical professionals, and auto and 
seat manufacturers to find ways to make car seats safer and easier to 
install. Today I'm pleased to announce that their top recommendation, a 
simple, universal system for attaching car safety seats, will become the 
standard for every new car and light truck sold in our country.
    By the year 2000, the Department of Transportation will require 
every safety seat to have three standard attachments designed to fit 
three standard anchors in the backseat of every car. With this new rule, 
and with these three simple attachments, we can save lives and prevent 
up to 3,000 injuries a year.
    But the challenge of keeping our children safe in our cars and on 
our roads is never ending. We must continue to encourage all drivers and 
passengers to buckle up, to use booster seats and seatbelts for their 
older children. We must work to make airbags safer for children and 
smaller adults. And we must press forward in our fight to keep more 
drunk drivers off our roads by lowering the national drunk driving 
standard to .08.
    Together we can work to make sure more Americans traveling on our 
roads, especially

[[Page 333]]

more young Americans, come safely home to their families and loved ones.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:36 p.m. on February 26 in the 
Manager's Office at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, CA, for 
broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February 27. The transcript was made 
available by the Office of the Press Secretary on February 26 but was 
embargoed for release until the broadcast.


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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 333]
 
Monday, March 8, 1999
 
Volume 35--Number 9
Pages 329-376
 
Week Ending Friday, March 5, 1999
 
Radio Remarks on ``Read Across America'' Day

March 1, 1999

    The best and most enjoyable way for children to open their minds is 
by opening a book. This Tuesday America will celebrate ``Read Across 
America'' Day. More than one million people--from baseball star Cal 
Ripken, Jr., to the sailors of the U.S.S. Saipan--will share the joy of 
reading with children in every part of our country. I encourage all 
caring adults to get involved. Read to children on ``Read Across 
America'' Day, and read to them every day. Together, we can make our 
children the best readers in the world.

Note: The President's remarks were recorded at approximately 2:55 p.m. 
in the Oval Office on February 22 for later broadcast as a public 
service announcement. These remarks were also made available on the 
White House Press Radio Actuality Line.


<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 333]
 
Monday, March 8, 1999
 
Volume 35--Number 9
Pages 329-376
 
Week Ending Friday, March 5, 1999
 
Radio Remarks on Internet Accessibility in Classrooms

March 1, 1999

    Vice President Gore and I have set a goal of connecting every 
classroom in America to the Internet. I'm pleased to announce that new 
Department of Education data show that more than half of all our 
Nation's classrooms are now connected--nearly twice as many connections 
as last year. And thanks to new E-rate discounts that help schools and 
libraries connect to the Internet, we'll reach our goal of every 
classroom and library connected by the year 2000.
    Computers and new educational software can make a real difference in 
the way teachers teach and a student learns. Because of our efforts, 
children in poorer or isolated areas will now have access to the same 
universe of knowledge as children in the most affluent suburbs. All our 
children will be technologically literate and better prepared for the 
high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future. But we also must make sure that 
teachers are as comfortable with a computer as they are with a 
chalkboard. That's why Congress should support my $800 million 
educational technology initiative, including more than $100 million for 
technology training for the teachers themselves.
    By giving our children the skills they need to succeed in the jobs 
of the future, we'll build a stronger nation for the 21st century. I 
want to especially thank Vice President Gore, who's done so much to put 
the future at the fingertips of our children.

Note: The President's remarks were recorded at approximately 1:40 p.m. 
on February 26 in the Manager's Office at the Grant Hyatt Hotel in San 
Francisco, CA, for later broadcast. The remarks were also made available 
on the White House Press Radio Actuality Line.


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

[Page 333-334]
 
Monday, March 8, 1999
 
Volume 35--Number 9
Pages 329-376
 
Week Ending Friday, March 5, 1999
 
Statement on Internet Accessibility in Classrooms

March 1, 1999

    Vice President Gore and I have set a goal of connecting every 
classroom in America to the Internet by the year 2000. Today I am 
pleased to announce that new Department of Education data show that more 
than half of all classrooms are connected--nearly twice as many 
connections as last year. And thanks to new E-rate discounts that help 
schools and libraries connect to the Internet, we will reach our goal by 
the year 2000.
    Computers, the Internet, and educational software can make a real 
difference in the way teachers teach and students learn. Because of our 
efforts, children in the most isolated inner city or rural town will 
have access to the same universe of knowledge as a child in the most 
affluent suburb. Parents will be able to communicate more frequently 
with teachers and keep up with the progress of

[[Page 334]]

their child in school. Our children will be ``technologically 
literate''--and better prepared for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the 
future. But we must also make sure that teachers are as comfortable with 
a computer as they are with the chalkboard. That is why Congress should 
support my $800 million educational technology initiative--including 
more than $100 million to train teachers in the latest technology.
    By giving our children the skills they need to succeed in the jobs 
of the future, we will build a stronger nation for the 21st century. I 
particularly want to thank Vice President Gore, who has done so much to 
put the future at the fingertips of our children.


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

[Page 334]
 
Monday, March 8, 1999
 
Volume 35--Number 9
Pages 329-376
 
Week Ending Friday, March 5, 1999
 
Statement on the Proposed ``Education Accountability Act''

March 1, 1999

    Today's news of improvement in achievement for students in high-

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