[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[September 18, 1992]
[Pages 1590-1595]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to AT&T Employees in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
September 18, 1992

    Please be seated, and thank you very much, Dr. Mary Stewart. Thanks 
for the welcome. Thank you very much, and good afternoon. What a 
wonderful introduction by such a wonderfully experienced person. Dr. 
Stewart, thank you very, very much. And good afternoon to everyone.
    I want to first recognize she who came up with me on the airplane 
today, Secretary Lynn Martin. She is doing a great job for this country 
as Secretary of Labor. I'll have more to say about her own labors in the 
context of this speech. But I want to thank her for being with us. She 
is a former Member of Congress. She is now leading this enormous 
Department and doing a first-class job.
    As to Tom Kean, your former Governor, my longtime friend, I couldn't 
be more pleased. He is heading up our campaign effort here, and I can't 
think of any better formula for success in this State because of his own 
record, the respect with which he's held. It is just a wonderful thing. 
Barbara and I are just delighted to have him at our side in this fight.
    Another one is Congressman Dean Gallo, who has been a leader for me 
and who's helping this State and this community a great deal in the 
House of Representatives. If we had more like him, we wouldn't hear 
everybody yelling at me, ``Clean House!'' everyplace I went. So that was 
nice.
    Of course, I'm grateful to the chairman, Bob Allen, and to everyone 
at AT&T. I think it's a good thing that you provide a forum for 
political people to bring their views to a community. A lot of companies 
duck it; they dodge it. Then they end up writing me letters griping 
about how things are. This one is out front. Bob Allen has always been 
willing to take a position. He stands for something, and so do the 
people that work with him. So I want to express my thanks to not only 
those that are in this room but those that might be plugged into some 
fancy high-tech AT&T communications system around here. But the company 
does good work and certainly is a great corporate citizen of this 
wonderful community.
    I want to thank the speaker who's here, Chuck Haytaian. He is 
leading the New Jersey Legislature. All States are caught up in enormous 
battles. And I'm very, very proud of him.
    With me today also are two women that came up with us from 
Washington, both of them standing there. Connie Horner is an Assistant 
to the President in terms of personnel. She gave up an enormous job as

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number two in the largest Department in the Federal Government. She's 
over now working with us in the White House in charge of all of our 
personnel. You all know the size of the Federal Government. So believe 
me, that's a major assignment, and I'm delighted she came.
    Next to her, some of you may know our household word, our household 
symbol now, Marlin Fitzwater. Well, Marlin's able deputy is Judy Smith, 
standing over next to Connie. You may have seen her on television 
fencing with or supporting the press, depending what kind of mood she's 
in--[laughter]--as we go around this country. But I just am so pleased 
that they're here with us today.
    You know, I remember standing in the Rose Garden just last year and 
awarding a prize, Environment and Conservation Challenge Award, to AT&T 
for your world-class work in reducing air pollutants. It's great to be 
here and see firsthand the folks who made it happen. That was a national 
honor well deserved by you and those who work with you.
    But there's something also sad, and Tom touched on it, about being 
in this neck of New Jersey today, and I'd like to just take a minute or 
two to explain why.
    You lost one of your most remarkable citizens on Wednesday when 
Congressman Millicent Fenwick died at the age of 82. She was an 
incredible person. And many portrayed her as the ``pipe-smoking 
grandmother,'' but she preferred ``hard-working grandmother.'' She said 
it had the same number of syllables--typical of Millicent. [Laughter] 
And she spent her whole life climbing obstacles and helping others to do 
the same.
    Yes, she was born to a life of privilege. But in the early thirties, 
her marriage split up, and she moved to New York alone, deep in debt, 
with a couple of kids. She wanted to get a job selling stockings at a 
department store, but they turned her away. She hadn't earned a high 
school diploma. She stuck with it, finally rising to be an editor of 
Vogue magazine.
    Her kids grown up, Millicent came home to New Jersey and started to 
get involved in town politics. She was the first woman member of the 
Bernardsville Borough Council. She ran then for the State assembly and 
won and served as State consumer affairs director.
    Then at 64, when most people are settling down, Millicent was just 
starting to make this fantastic reputation in Congress. I was honored to 
know her very, very well indeed. She helped run my campaign here in this 
State in 1980. She was deeply principled in politics for all the right 
reasons, to fulfill a deep and burning desire to achieve justice for all 
people.
    Her commitment to the underdogs of the world was matched only by her 
wit. Once a State legislator said to her, ``I've always thought of women 
as kissable, cuddly, and smelling good.'' Millicent replied, ``That's 
the way I feel about men, too. I only hope for your sake that you 
haven't been disappointed as often as I have.'' [Laughter] Well, who but 
Millicent? Enough said.
    Well, Millicent Fenwick lived during interesting times. She saw a 
world transformed outside our borders, and she helped lead that 
transformation. You remember her assignment after she left the Congress 
was to go off into a marvelous agency helping people in the food area. 
But while these remarkable changes took place overseas, here in America 
a quieter and even more profound revolution has been unfolding, and 
Millicent was a part of that, too.
    I'm talking about a move toward human justice at its most basic 
level, the movement toward equality of the sexes, a movement that cuts 
across social and ideological boundaries and touches all our lives. Of 
course, before we all get carried away with the congratulations, we have 
to admit--and Lynn and I were talking about this coming up here on the 
plane--that we have a ways to go. I did not come here today just as one 
more man, but I'm here as a President whose policies affect your lives.
    Last week I unveiled, and Dr. Stewart very generously talked about 
this, my Agenda for American Renewal, answers to the questions that 
Americans are asking around their kitchen tables. The agenda is a 
comprehensive strategy to guarantee that by the early part of the 21st 
century, America will enjoy the world's first $10 trillion economy. I 
have several priorities; most are

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well underway. I want to open new markets and new customers for the 
products you produce. I want to create new schools for a new age. I want 
to sharpen businesses' competitive edge, with relief from taxation, 
regulation, and certainly from litigation. I want to reach out to all 
Americans, and I want to dramatically reduce the size and the scope of 
the Federal Government.
    That's my agenda. But today, I'm here to talk about a special 
priority on my agenda, providing economic security for American working 
men and women. The first order of business, as I said, is to admit that 
there is still unfinished business. Women work as hard as men and still 
earn less, and that's not acceptable. Most working women do more than 
equal work on the job and at home, and that's not acceptable, either.
    Many women are trying to do it all alone. Look, divorce happens, and 
I know it from my own family, my own daughter. I've seen what single 
mothers are up against, the kind of pressures, trying to do 36 hours of 
work in a 24-hour day.
    As a nation, we must confront these challenges head-on. Not talk, 
not slogans, not political rhetoric, we need Government policies that 
help men and women meet their responsibilities at home. And that means 
child care. It means family leave policies. It means child support 
enforcement. It means cheaper health care.
    Both candidates in this election are talking about these issues. But 
we offer entirely different solutions. The other side puts their faith 
in Government, Government mandates. On issue after issue, their solution 
comes down to giving more power to Government. I put my faith in you. I 
want to give you the power to help yourself. The other side's ideas 
sound very enticing. But you have to ask, ``Will they work for me? Will 
they make a difference in my life?''
    In thinking about this, I refer you to a story about William II, the 
Emperor of Germany. He saw himself as a man's man, which I guess means 
he was the kind of Kaiser who, when he got lost, would refuse to ask 
anybody directions. [Laughter] Well, the Kaiser got in his head that he 
could design a better battleship. So he drew up plans and sent them to 
the naval architect for him to study. And the architect said the 
Kaiser's battleship would be absolutely the finest one on Earth. It 
would be as fast as a speedboat. Its range and its power would overwhelm 
the enemy. Everybody on board would feel like they were lounging in 
their living room. There was only one teeny, tiny problem: If the boat 
were built and actually placed in the water, it would sink.
    Well, I'm afraid a lot of policies that have been coming out of 
Capitol Hill the past few years do that. All are designed to use 
Government to achieve great things on your behalf. But look closely, and 
I suggest that they just might not float in water.
    Let me give you a few examples. You decide for yourself.
    This week, Congress sent me what's called family leave legislation. 
The bill has the noble goal of allowing a mom or dad to leave a job in 
order to take care of a new baby, maybe care for a sick parent. The bill 
would require companies to keep the job open for 3 months until the 
employee could come back to work.
    Now, I believe family leave is necessary, and our families need it. 
A lot of companies are providing it. This one right here does; AT&T is 
one. You should be proud of your farsighted leadership on this. But the 
bill Congress sent me this week would force every company with more than 
50 employees to provide family leave. If companies don't foot the bill, 
they break the law. Now, that's one approach, and I offer another one. I 
want to give all businesses incentives in the form of credits, tax 
credits to offer family leave.
    It's an election year, so congressional leaders have sent me their 
mandatory approach. They've been sitting on it all year long, I might 
add. Now, with 2 weeks to go in this session of the Congress, or 3, sent 
it to me and dared me not to sign it. I want to explain why I can't 
support their approach.
    First of all, our economy is sluggish. Here in New Jersey and all 
across the country it's sluggish. Think of the ad agencies, the printing 
companies, other suppliers in your neighborhoods and people that you 
work with every day. They're still cutting budgets and payrolls, and I 
don't want to load on more Federal mandates that will force

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them to lay off people.
    You might say, ``You're protecting the rich.'' But, you know, 
entrepreneurs aren't all rich. In fact, more and more people are taking 
their pensions and starting their own small businesses. By the year 
2000, women will run the majority of these businesses.
    Here's another point to consider: You and I know the best benefit 
packages often come from the largest employers. They're the ones that 
can provide the benefits. Small companies are usually where parents have 
to make the tough choice between work and family. But the other side's 
approach exempts the smallest employers. My approach offers incentives 
to those companies, and it will cover the 40 percent of American workers 
who won't be covered by the other side's plan.
    One more thing: Think of the impact mandated family leave has on 
hiring decisions. I know it's not supposed to happen, but how many 
employers will think, why not hire a man instead of a woman? He won't 
leave to have a child. He won't leave to care for his family. This is 
illegal, and we must enforce the law. But mandated family leave could 
encourage this subtle kind of discrimination.
    I don't think you'll hear these kinds of details discussed in the 
media. But I'm going to take a stand because to me, it's not worth 
putting politics ahead of progress.
    Let me talk just about another job-related issue, something that's 
called the glass ceiling. Today, companies are promoting some women in 
greater numbers, but not fast enough. So a lot of talented women are 
going into the businesses for themselves.
    This isn't just a corporate problem; we're seeing the same thing 
happen in Government. And I'm proud of our record in promoting women. 
But I'm especially proud that we've put talented women in important 
economic positions: running the Department of Labor, running the 
Department of Commerce or the Small Business Administration, or handling 
all of our trade negotiations. The women I work with tell me they don't 
want any special opportunity; they just want the right to succeed or 
fail, to be measured by the same standard as men.
    We want to see the Lynn Martins of corporate America succeed, too. 
That's why this Secretary of Labor, Lynn Martin, has made shattering the 
glass ceiling a top priority. She's making sure that companies who 
receive your tax dollars through Federal contracts make career 
opportunities available to women.
    Let's talk child care for a moment. You see a difference in 
philosophies here. Congress wanted a Government-run child care program, 
a mandated program emanating from some subcommittee and then working its 
way through the Congress. I heard from parents who wanted the right to 
choose the best child care for their children. It might be a public 
school. It might be a church or a synagogue, an aunt's house. And the 
point is, you want to make the choice, not be told where to go by some 
county clerk. Congress wanted to give the money directly to county 
agencies and limit the family's alternatives. I fought for giving 
vouchers directly to parents, so you can choose the best care, 
regardless of who provides it. Our way was better, and on this one we 
won.
    Now we're having a similar debate, major national debate, over 
health care. Costs are rising more than 10 percent a year. It's putting 
pressure on families. It's the fastest growing item in this enormous 
Federal budget. Once again, the other side wants the Government alone to 
solve the problem, either by directly taking over our health care system 
or by indirectly getting involved in setting prices and mandating 
benefits. Now, that idea sounds appealing to some, but it will end up 
meaning longer lines and less flexibility for you and for your families.
    I offer an entirely different approach, sitting up there now in the 
United States Congress awaiting action. I want to give companies 
incentives to provide coverage and use competition to drive down costs. 
I want to get at the root cause of raising prices, including 
skyrocketing malpractice insurance. I want to let small businesses pool 
their coverage, insurance coverage, so they can get the same price 
breaks as larger companies do. My plan will lower costs through 
competition, extend coverage to the poorest of the poor--insurance 
coverage--extend coverage to 30 million Americans who

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cannot afford it today and build on the strengths of our system, which 
already provides the highest quality care in the world.
    You see people coming from all over the world to come to America for 
health care. Why? Because we have the highest quality care. If you take 
it out of the private sector and you put it in the public sector, you 
can guarantee that it will no longer be that beacon for quality. I 
believe my approach is right. I believe it's right for the citizens of 
this country, and I believe it's right when it comes to a philosophy of 
government.
    Now, here's something that really bothers me. Five million women 
today in America are entitled to child support from ex-husbands. Now, 
you know how many of those women get all they are entitled to? About 
half. About half. I think it's outrageous that a father in Pennsylvania 
can be shopping for a new Corvette, while his ex-wife in New Jersey is 
struggling to shop for food. And I think it's time that the long arm of 
the law taps every deadbeat dad on the shoulder and says, pay up, or 
else.
    There's a lot more in this agenda. We've made it so you can take a 
pension from job to job. Our health care proposal, the health care goes 
from job to job. We've provided incentives for student aid. Today one 
out of two students at a college or university gets a Federal loan or 
grant. And the purpose is the same: to protect working men and women, to 
make it easier to raise a family.
    But listing the exact details of every program isn't as important as 
the philosophy behind them, a philosophy that says: Ultimately, the only 
way to make people more secure is to give you more power, give you, the 
individual, more power over the decisions that affect your jobs and 
family budgets.
    If we're going to use the power of Government to move us forward, we 
need to use the power of Government to help, not hinder; not to add new 
barriers to opportunity but to remove old ones. I started by talking 
about the economic challenge before America, and I'd like to close the 
same way because ultimately that's what this election is about: Who has 
the ideas that can help America win the global economic competition? 
When you stop to consider all the challenges we face in this Nation, 
let's not ignore some of the advantages.
    Here in America, we send more of our students to higher education, 
more than any other nation, twice as many as Germany and more than twice 
as many as Japan. More than half of these American students are women. 
Basically, we have twice as many educated people as our competitors. 
It's because America is the only nation that really tries to base 
opportunity on character and talent alone.
    The changes of the past few decades have improved the lives of all 
Americans. But more than that, they've improved our society. They've 
made us stronger as we face the stiff challenges ahead. The policies 
that I've outlined today are designed to build on our strengths, to help 
us take advantage of the talents of every American, to strengthen all 
our families so that we can make America safer and more secure.
    I have seven granddaughters. Maybe I better rephrase that: Barbara 
and I have seven granddaughters. [Laughter] I don't want to be killed 
when I get down to Maryland. [Laughter] The oldest is 15 years old. And 
the world that she enters today will be much different than the world 
that Barbara and I entered many years ago. If my granddaughter wants to 
go out to Texas and start an oil company, she can do it. If she wants to 
write the ``Vogue Book of Etiquette,'' she can do that, too. If she 
chooses another line of work, if she chose to stay home and raise her 
kids, well, I'll give her love and support. She won't have to answer to 
anyone about the choices she's made. If she wants to try and run for 
President, she can do that, too. And I hope she does.
    I'm very glad that my grandchildren face these opportunities, but 
they will only be able to take advantage of them if America remains the 
most dynamic place on this great Earth. I think the path to economic 
security lies with less Government, less regulation, more freedom and 
respect for families and individuals.
    So what I offer in this election is simple: a new path to a renewed 
America, based on some tried and true values. That's how we're going to 
build a safer, more secure America for all of us and certainly for our

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kids, your kids, and my grandkids.
    Thank you for listening. And may God bless the United States of 
America. Thank you all very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 2:54 p.m. at the AT&T 
                        corporate headquarters. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Mary L. Stewart, president, Stewart 
                        Management Group, and Chuck Haytaian, speaker of 
                        the New Jersey State Assembly.