    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [May 5, 1993]
    [Pages 573-574]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 573]]

    Remarks at the ``Latino USA'' Reception
    May 5, 1993

        Thank you very much. Thank you. I started to apologize for being
    late, but now I'm glad I am. You're in a good humor. [Laughter] I have,
    as you can tell by my outfit, been somewhere else tonight, but I'm
    awfully glad to be here. I want to say to Dr. Cardenas and to all of
    you, happy Cinco de Mayo. Viva public radio. And thank you for letting
    me be here tonight.
        There are a lot of friends of mine here, and you see with me
    Secretary Cisneros and Secretary Pena. They've talked already, I think.
    I'm very proud of them. I'm very glad they're a part of my
    administration, along with Regina Montoya, who is my Special Assistant
    for Intergovernmental Relations. That means when Governors and Mayors
    are happy, it's her fault. When they're mad, it's because I made a
    mistake. [Laughter] I also would like to thank the Members of Congress
    who are here: Congressmen Esteban Torres, Carlos Romero-Barcelo, Bob
    Menendez, Solomon Ortiz, Ed Pastor, and Luis Gutierrez, my good friends
    here. I also want to note the presence here of three people from KUAR-FM
    in Little Rock, Arkansas: Regina Dean, Ben Frye, and Tim Edwards.
        Last year at this time I celebrated Cinco de Mayo on the town square
    in San Francisco with tens of thousands of people. It was an ecstatic
    day, 4 weeks from the end of the primary season. I am deeply honored to
    be here with you tonight to acknowledge this important day, which was a
    day of victory and a new beginning for the people of Mexico.
        Tonight we celebrate another new beginning, and I want to offer my
    congratulations and best wishes to all who have worked so hard to launch
    ``Latino USA.'' I believe it will be a new forum for all the diverse
    voices throughout America's Latino communities and a new way for more
    Americans to learn more about the importance of the many Latino cultures
    in the United States and the many leaders who have brought and are
    bringing hope and inspiration to all Americans. I think tonight I'd like
    to say that we ought to have a special word of thanks for the life and
    work of the late Cesar Chavez. [Applause]
        I want to say a special word of thanks to the Members of the
    Congressional Hispanic Caucus; I have introduced many of them to you.
    They have met with me extensively, and they've helped to make me more
    aware of the needs and opportunities in Latino communities throughout
    the United States and in Puerto Rico. That's all part of the United
    States. I'm still for self-determination, by the way. That's my
    position, and I want to follow it.
        I want to say also that the Health Care Task Force, which my wife is
    chairing, has benefited immensely from the contributions of Latinos in
    community-based health movements all over the United States who have
    helped us to understand some of the special needs that we must respond
    to in putting together a real program to provide health security for all
    the people of the United States, something that we are determined to do
    this year. And I want you to support us in that.
        I also want you to know that--I don't know if this is a commendation
    or a condemnation in the world of electoral politics--but my wife and I
    are NPR junkies. When I was Governor of Arkansas, we woke every morning
    for more than a decade to the NPR station at home, kicking on at 6 a.m.
    Our radio would come on, and I would hear some thoughtful news broadcast
    but desperately want to go back to sleep. But the earnest sincerity of
    NPR always got me up and got me going. As a matter of fact, I was so
    impressed with the quality--yes, I am--[laughter]--the quality of the
    programs that I asked NPR's president, Douglas Bennet, to leave his post
    and join my administration as Assistant Secretary of State for
    International Organizations. Now, I want you to know that Doug has his
    hearing on Friday. And after all these years, he's going to get a feel
    for what it's like to be on the other side of the microphone. That was
    almost worth making the appointment for. [Laughter]
        I also want to say a word of congratulations to NPR's news division
    and its vice president for news, Bill Buzenberg, for ``All Things
    Considered,'' which celebrated its 22d anniversary on Monday, a great
    program. I hope that ``Latino USA'' does for its audiences what programs
    like ``All Things Considered'' and ``Morning Edition'' do for audiences
    all across America

    [[Page 574]]

    today. Perhaps 22 Cinco de Mayos from today, you too will be able to
    look back and remember what an important beginning this really was.
        And let me say in general, I am trying to make this administration
    one of new beginnings. I'm doing my best every day to get up and go to
    work with people like Henry and Federico, knowing that we don't have all
    the answers and knowing that you can't just turn the ship of state
    around overnight, but believing that our solemn obligation is to get up
    every day and try to change this country for the better and try to make
    it possible for Americans to honestly and maturely and with discipline
    and vision and will face our problems and seize our opportunities,
    trying to make absolutely sure that our diversity is a cause of strength
    not a source of division so that every person in this country and every
    child, like that beautiful little girl I held up a minute ago, can grow
    up and live to the fullest of their God-given capacities. That is our
    job.
        Thank you, and God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:35 p.m. at the Sequoia Restaurant. In
    his remarks, he referred to Gilbert Cardenas, executive producer of
    ``Latino USA.''