pd08my00 Statement on the Legal Framework Agreement for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan...

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    Today I ask all of you to join me in reaching out to all the others 
across America who need these tools to build their future. When Vice 
President Gore and I started hooking up schools to the Internet, there 
were only about 16 percent of our schools who had a connection in 1994; 
today, 95 percent do. But I was on an Indian reservation in northern New 
Mexico the other day, introduced by a brilliant young girl of 13 who had 
just won a computer in a contest, who could not hook it up to the 
Internet because her home did not have a phone. Seventy percent of the 
homes on her Navajo reservation did not have a phone. We have to bring 
telephone service to everybody and then make the Internet as common as 
telephone usage is in every home, every business, and every school in 
the United States of America. We owe that to our future.
    We must create incentives for American business to invest in people 
and places in danger of being left behind--left behind in their 
economies and their education of their children, in information 
infrastructure and special technologies for people with special needs. 
That's what our efforts to build bipartisan support for opening 
America's new markets and closing the digital divide are all about.
    The third thing I want to mention is that the revolution in 
technology and communications means our lives are bound up more than 
ever with people far away from us with whom we now are in instant 
contact. Our community of values and interest spans the globe. Events 
half a world away can have an impact on us here, just as what we do has 
an impact on people who live thousands of miles from our borders, in 
ways large and small. I have a cousin in Arkansas who plays chess once a 
week on the Internet with a man in Australia. Doubtless, there are many 
stories like that in this room today.

[[Page 952]]

    We need a new level of international cooperation and new rules that 
deal with the most significant challenge of our common humanity, the 
environmental challenge posed by global warming. Scientists tell us the 
temperature is now rising 4 degrees a century. To anyone who has lived 
through a Michigan winter, that might not sound so bad. [Laughter] But 
the scientists also say that a significant degree of this climate change 
is due to human activity, specifically to putting more greenhouse gases 
into the atmosphere from the burning of coal and oil. And if it goes 
unchecked, the consequences will be dramatic. Rising temperatures can 
melt polar icecaps, which lead to rising oceans that could swallow 
thousands of miles of our own coastlines and bury island nations. 
Changing weather would devastate our farmlands. We would have both more 
droughts and more violent storms and floods. Hotter weather could both 
cause more rapid evaporation of inland water systems and a drought which 
replenishes them less.
    Think about the Great Lakes, where water levels are falling faster 
than ever recorded. They have fallen almost 3 feet in just 2 years. They 
may fall much more in the next 30. That would be a disaster for industry 
and for all living things dependent upon the lakes. And that is why I've 
asked Congress to fund our efforts to find out why the water is falling, 
to restore the Great Lakes waterways, to improve our stewardship of this 
vital resource.
    Now, for most of the 20th century, economic growth did require 
burning more fossil fuels--more coal and more oil--which released the 
greenhouse gases, caused the pollution, and heated the atmosphere. 
Because of that, many people still believe that we must choose between 
two vital values, preserving our environment and making our economy 
grow. Thankfully, in the digital economy, that is simply not true 
anymore. It is now possible to grow an economy and improve the 
environment at the same time. New technologies make it possible to 
reduce harmful emissions as they make the economy more efficient and 
stronger.
    Scientists right here at EMU are making environmentally friendly 
paints out of soybeans. Michigan, the home of the automobile, is now the 
home of cutting-edge research into cars and trucks of the 21st century 
that will get much higher mileage. And soon, vehicles developed here, in 
partnership with the Federal Government, will use alternative and 
biofuels, which could get the equivalent of 100 miles or more to a 
gallon of gasoline.
    These technologies are good for the planet and good for the bottom 
line, but we must embrace them. And I say this very seriously: It takes 
at least 50 years for greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere to 
dissipate. The class--this class, graduating today--it is your children 
and your grandchildren that will feel the harshest effects of our 
neglect in meeting this challenge. But if you don't do it, your children 
may not be able to do it for you because of the time delay. And it is no 
good saying that someone else should do it. We are the world's largest 
emitter of greenhouse gases because we're the richest country, but soon 
China and India will surpass us. We must show them that they can grow 
even faster by following a different path, but first we must set a good 
example.
    I have implored the Congress to adopt legislation to increase 
research and development in this area and to give significant tax 
incentives for people to produce products that emit less greenhouse 
gases and for people to buy them. It is a big challenge for you. You can 
have all the computers and all the money in the world, and if we 
squander God's environment, it won't be worth very much. I urge you to 
meet this challenge.
    Let me say in closing, I am very optimistic about the new century. 
It will bring us more advances and answer more questions than any period 
in human history. We'll be able to store all the information in the 
Halle Library in a device the size of a sugar cube. We'll have 
microchips that stimulate the spine in such a way that people now 
paralyzed will be able to stand up and walk. I believe we will even 
learn what's in the black holes in the universe. But we must not be so 
dazzled by the bright promise of technology that we lose sight of the 
fundamental lesson. We must bring to bear our basic values on each new 
development in human history in order to assure that it works for the 
public good and maintains America's values

[[Page 953]]

of liberty and community. That is the noble challenge that you face.
    Henry Ford once defined obstacles as those frightful things you see 
when you take your eyes off the goal. I hope your goal will be a 21st 
century American community that derives every benefit from technology 
while holding fast to our oldest values. I hope you will not take your 
eyes off of it. I hope you will embrace it and work for it. If you do, 
you will achieve it. And you will live in history's most exciting, 
prosperous, and humane era. That is what I wish for you.
    Congratulations, good luck, and Godspeed.

 Note:  The President spoke at 2:15 p.m. in the Convention Center. In 
his remarks, he referred to William E. Shelton, president, and James 
Comer, professor, Eastern Michigan University; Mayor Dennis W. Archer of 
Detroit, MI; former Gov. James J. Blanchard of Michigan; and Myra Jodie, 
student, Steamboat Navajo Nation. A portion of these remarks could not 
be verified because the tape was incomplete.


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

[Page 953-958]
 
Monday, May 8, 2000
 
Volume 36--Number 18
Pages 943-1020
 
Week Ending Friday, May 5, 2000
 
Remarks at the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit, Michigan

April 30, 2000

    Thank you. Well--I don't know what to say. [Laughter] I will tell 
you that this magnificent work of African art will be up in our 
residence at the White House before I go to bed tonight. I thank you for 
it.
    Reverend Anthony, thank you for an introduction the likes I have 
never had and never will have again. [Laughter] Thank you for spreading 
the caring arms of this branch of the NAACP from East Grand Boulevard 
all the way to Africa. [Laughter] And thank you for being my true 
friend.
    Thank you all, ladies and gentlemen, for honoring Secretary Cuomo. I 
am delighted that he and his wife, Kerry, are here with me, and he 
deserves the honor you gave him. You know, he and Secretary Slater make 
me look good every day. [Laughter] And too often I get the credit when 
they deserve more. I thank them for being here.
    I thank Thurgood Marshall, Jr., for being here; Maria Echaveste, all 
the people from the White House that prove the truth that we have given 
you an administration that looks like America. I thank all your elected 
Representatives who are here for their support and solidarity with the 
NAACP. Thank you, Governor Engler, Senator Levin, Senator Abraham, 
Congressman Dingell, Congresswoman Kilpatrick. Congresswoman Stabenow, 
thank you for running and proving that you believe in democracy. And 
thank you, thank you, thank you, my friend John Conyers, and thank you 
for giving him the award that he so richly deserves.
    Thank you, Mayor Dennis Archer, and thank you, Trudy, for being 
Hillary's friend and my friend for so many years. Long before you were a 
mayor, back when you were a judge and above such things as petty 
politics, we were friends. [Laughter] I have enjoyed watching the 
success of Detroit and enjoyed helping on occasion you to contribute to 
it. I thank you all.
    I bring you--I also want to offer my condolences to the family and 
many friends of Bill Beckham, who passed away last week, who devoted his 
life to improving the lives of others in this great city. And I bring 
you greetings from two people who are not here: the First Lady, Hillary, 
who said she wished she could be here, but she is otherwise occupied in 
New York tonight; and the Vice President, who is otherwise occupied 
somewhere in America tonight, who loved being here.
    Now, I am told this is the largest sit-down dinner anywhere in the 
whole world. And I can honestly say, it's the only one I've ever 
attended that had four head tables--[laughter]--the only one I've ever 
attended when I didn't shake hands with everyone at the head tables--
[laughter]--and I learned tonight that I was the first sitting President 
ever to attend this great banquet. I will say this: If this encounter 
gets anything like the press coverage it deserves, I am quite certain I 
will not be the last President to be at this banquet tonight.
    More than anything else, I came tonight to say a simple thank you. 
Thank you for being my friends; thank you for being there for me in good 
times and bad; thank you for being there in our journey to help America 
go forward together.

[[Page 954]]

    For more than 90 years now, the NAACP has been America's friend, the 
conscience of a nation struggling and too often failing to live up to 
its ideals, challenging always all of us to look into the mirror, to 
face our faults and right our wrongs. I have proceeded these last 7 
years and 3 months with a simple philosophy that I believe is your 
philosophy: I believe everybody counts, everybody should have a chance, 
everybody has a role to play, and we all do better when we help each 
other.
    Dr. King once said our lives begin to end the day we become silent 
about things that matter. The NAACP has never been silent about the 
things that matter, and the life of this organization is just beginning. 
For all the progress we have made together, there is still much to do.
    I am grateful for your support and the role you and your work have 
played in the progress we have made together for America. I am grateful 
that we have the lowest unemployment and welfare rates in 30 years, the 
lowest poverty rates in 20 years, the lowest minority unemployment ever 
recorded, the lowest female unemployment in 40 years, the highest 
homeownership in history, and the longest economic expansion in history. 
I am grateful for that.
    I am grateful that under the Vice President's leadership, we've 
created empowerment zones in Detroit and many other cities and set up 
community financial institutions to loan money to people that couldn't 
get loans otherwise, and done so many other things. I am grateful for 
that. I am grateful that we have a healing social fabric, that the 
homicide rate is the lowest in 30 years and gun crime's down 35 percent, 
and adoptions are up 30 percent. I am grateful for all of that. I am 
grateful that 21 million Americans have taken family and medical leave 
and that 5 million families have benefited from our HOPE scholarship to 
help pay for college.
    I am grateful that 150,000 young Americans, including at least one I 
saw here tonight, have served our country in AmeriCorps in their 
communities. I am grateful that over 90 percent of our children are 
immunized for the first time from serious childhood diseases, and 95 
percent of our schools are hooked up to the Internet, as compared with 
16 percent when the Vice President and I set out to hook them all up 6 
years ago. I'm grateful for all that.
    I'm grateful that, as Wendell said so much more eloquently than I 
could, we have appointed more minorities and women to more positions in 
the Government and on the bench than any administration in history by a 
good long ways. I'm grateful for that.
    I am profoundly touched by your prayers, your friendship, and your 
support. I reminded Secretary Slater when Reverend Anthony was up here 
preaching--[laughter]--that I went home with him last week to a memorial 
service for Daisy Bates, the great Arkansas heroine of the civil rights 
movement who shepherded those nine children through Little Rock Central 
High School 43 years ago and who just died a few months ago. Daisy's 
minister, Reverend Rufus Young, who is a gentleman way up in his 
eighties, with a frail walk, with a strong voice, got up and looked up 
at me and he said, ``Mr. President, the only reason you've survived is 
that so many of us black folks were praying for you so hard.'' 
[Laughter]
    What I hope now is we will turn our prayers and energies toward 
tomorrow. For when people gather together, even though it's important to 
remember the past, in my wife's words, it's even more important to 
imagine the future. And I guess what I would like to ask you is, in this 
millennial election season, as a citizen--forget about party, forget 
about anything else--what do you as a human being believe that America 
should be doing?
    I have waited a long time for my country to be in the position to 
create the future of our dreams for our children. I watched for a long 
time America just being paralyzed by these assumptions of what we could 
not do. When I got elected President, I think most people thought we 
could never get rid of the deficit, much less run a surplus, but we 
have. I think most people thought the crime rate would always go up and 
never go down. But it's gone down for 7 years in a row now. I think most 
people thought that people on welfare didn't really want to work. But 
that turned out to be wrong. Almost 7 million have moved out of welfare. 
They were wrong about that.

[[Page 955]]

    I think most people thought a lot of things couldn't get better. And 
now we don't have any excuses, because we know when we get together and 
work together, things can get better. And so what I want to ask you is, 
what do you propose to do about it?
    A great country can make mistakes not only when times are tough but 
when times are good. I look out here in this sea of faces, and I wonder 
how many thousand stories there are here tonight--stories of triumph and 
heroism and struggle against the odds to overcome some racial or 
economic or other handicap--how many of you have lost a loved one to 
violence or other tragedies. And now, what I want to say to you is: We 
know things can be better; what do you propose to do about it?
    We have choices to make. I believe that we should keep on going with 
this economic recovery until we have brought economic opportunity to all 
those neighborhoods, all those little rural towns, all those Indian 
reservations, all those people who have still been left behind and don't 
know there's been a recovery because they haven't felt it. And we can do 
it now in a way that we've never been able to do before.
    I believe we should keep going until all of our children understand 
how to use computers and can make the most of it. I believe we should 
keep going until we find a way to guarantee health care rights to all 
Americans who are willing to work and do the right thing or who need 
help because they can't. I believe we should keep going until every 
American who wants to can go to college.
    Let me tell you something else a lot of people don't know; even a 
lot of African-Americans don't know this. Last year, for the first time 
in history, the percentage of African-Americans graduating from high 
school equaled the percentage of the white majority children graduating 
from high school. Now, we ought to keep going until the percentage going 
on to college equals that and then the percentage graduating. But we 
have to open the doors of college to everyone.
    We've made a lot of progress, but we've got more to do. And we've 
got more to do in so many other areas. I just want to mention two more 
before I leave. One is, in this whole business of sharing the bounty of 
America's public service. You know, I never thought about this in the 
way--my appointment of people of color and lots of women to important 
positions--in the way most people think about it. I always figured we'd 
do a better job if our Government was more representative of the rest of 
the people in the country. I always thought we would make better 
decisions. I always thought empowering people and communities was a 
positive good. I never thought it was something I was doing for somebody 

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