[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[May 31, 1994]
[Pages 1006-1007]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Swearing-In Ceremony for Members of the President's 
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
May 31, 1994

    Thank you very much, Secretary Shalala and Mr. Vice President, 
Florence Griffith Joyner and Tom McMillen. Glad to see others here in 
the audience, our Surgeon General, Dr. Elders; Assistant Secretary of 
HHS Phil Lee; and so many others who are here.
    Let me say that I was once asked if I wanted Al Gore to be Vice 
President because he could run faster than me, and then I would get my 
times down. [Laughter] That was not the primary reason that I asked him 
to join the ticket in 1992, but I did think it was important, and I do 
believe it is important that all of us exemplify by what we do a 
commitment to the work we are about to celebrate when we swear in the 
President's Council today.
    Let me explain why I think this is important. This morning before I 
came out here, I had about 10 minutes, and I sat down and I made these 
little notes here, to try to see if I could get across to you and, 
perhaps through you, to the American people why this day is really a big 
deal to me.
    Before I ran for President, I devoted a lot of time, very private 
time, to reflecting on the nature of public service, the nature of 
government, what the role of government in our life is, and what things 
government cannot do. And I thought a lot about what the American people 
have to do for themselves in order for this country to work right.
    So consider the following: Our Government and our administration has 
worked hard here at home to get the economy up and going and the deficit 
down, to pass the most sweeping education and training legislation for 
workers and young people trying to compete in a global economy in 30 
years, to expand trade more in 15 months than in the previous 
generation. Abroad, in the last couple of days, we have celebrated 
something that's good for our health: for the first time since the dawn 
of the atomic age, the United States and Russia no longer have nuclear 
missiles pointed at each other.
    An enormous amount of what we do involves the health of our people. 
In the area of the environment, we're working hard on a new clean air 
act and a safe drinking water act. In the area of crime, we passed an 
assault weapons ban and the Brady bill and more police officers and more 
prevention, more opportunities for our young people to stay out of 
trouble, in the area of strengthening the family, something that 
directly relates to the health of American families, the Family and 
Medical Leave Act, which permits families to take time off when their 
children or their parents are ill. Our FDA is taking on a pretty tough 
fight with the tobacco industry and now looking into the whole issue of 
the narcotic or addictive effects and whether they can be varied based 
on certain production techniques. In the area of health care, the First 
Lady and the Department of Health and Human Services and others have 
worked on immunization, on more primary and preventive care in our 
health care proposal, on trying to provide prescription medicines to 
elderly people.
    Now, in the course of doing this, we've made quite a few enemies. 
We've made the NRA mad, the cigarette industry mad, certain business 
interests that don't agree with either the economic program or the 
environmental initiatives or other things, many of but not all of the 
health insurance companies, and some particularly extremist groups who 
disapprove even of what we've done to expand the frontiers of medical 
research. It has all been worth it. It is part of what we are supposed 
to do.
    Now, having said all that, when I picked up the briefing for this 
event and I realized that

[[Page 1007]]

43 percent of the adults in this country don't exercise, that 5 years 
ago the Council sponsored a poll that said 42 percent of the American 
people who were adults were actively interested in pursuing a healthier 
lifestyle which would mean more exercise and a better diet and it's 
dropped now to 30 percent; when I see the number of children who live in 
our cities and are vulnerable to gangs and violence and drugs, and I 
realize that there are no public swimming pools in many of our cities 
available to them, that the basketball courts don't work anymore, that 
there are no longer baseball leagues for kids to play in in the 
summertime; when I look at large employers who spend fabulous amounts of 
money on health care but very little on the wellness of their employees, 
I say to myself, I like fighting these fights. I don't mind making these 
enemies. But unless the American people do something to seize control of 
their own personal health care destiny and that of their families and 
that of their friends and neighbors and the kids who live in their 
cities and communities, we are not going to become what we ought to 
become. That is why this day is important to me and to the American 
people.
    So I say to the members of the President's Council on Physical 
Fitness and Sports, thank you. We will support you in every way we can. 
We hope your message will be heard loud and clear.
    I say to my fellow Americans, ask yourselves what you can do to 
improve your own health, the health of your communities, and the 
availability of sporting and teamwork activities to kids. When you play 
sports, you don't have time to do other things. When you're involved in 
teamwork, you learn how to deal with the disappointment of defeat and 
frustration. You even learn how to manage unfairness. These are 
important things, lessons in life that have to be learned. A Government 
program cannot provide them.
    So we'll keep doing our job. Let's help them do their job.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:21 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Florence Griffith Joyner and Tom 
McMillen, Cochairs of the Council.