[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[January 29, 1994]
[Pages 140-142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
January 29, 1994

    Good morning. If I sound a little hoarse today, it's because I 
haven't completely recovered my voice which I lost after I gave the 
State of the Union Address to Congress. You know, I don't like losing my 
voice, but frankly, it wouldn't be a bad thing in Washington if more 
people had to lower their voices and listen to you a little more. I 
think if they did, it would

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strengthen their determination to keep fighting to change this country 
for the better.
    A lot of changes have occurred in the last year, and you, basically, 
deserve the credit for it, even though Congress had to enact the laws 
that I proposed. There's been an economic plan that cuts the deficit by 
half a trillion dollars, more than 1.6 million new jobs in the private 
sector, tax relief for 15 million low- and moderate-wage workers to 
reward work over welfare, a family and medical leave law to enable 
people to take a little time off when there's a child born or a parent 
sick without losing their jobs, the Brady bill to keep more guns out of 
the hands of criminals, more affordable loans for the middle class, and 
a national service program for young people who want to give something 
back to their communities and their country and earn credit toward a 
college education.
    And it's beginning to pay off. Yesterday we received very 
encouraging growth figures for the last 3 months of 1993. This economic 
plan is promoting the right kind of recovery and growth through smaller 
deficits, lower interest rates, lower inflation, and productive 
investment. It's not the kind of growth we had too much in the 1980's, 
where there was ballooning debt and paper prosperity.
    I know a lot of you aren't yet feeling the benefits of these 
changes, and our work won't be done until every American has the 
security to face the future without fear. But because you've demanded 
change, Washington finally is addressing America's agenda, the problems 
you face in your jobs, your communities, and your families.
    Because good skills are the only tickets to good jobs and growing 
incomes, I'm asking Congress this year to invest more in education and 
training, to transform the unemployment system into a reemployment 
system that teaches new skills for new jobs. We need to do more to help 
people who don't go to college to move from high school to work. And we 
need to improve all our schools with our Goals 2000 plan, which links 
world-class standards to grassroots reforms.
    Because the welfare system discourages work and destroys families, 
I'm asking Congress to help to revolutionize it. For those who depend on 
welfare, we should provide the support, the job training, and the child 
care needed for up to 2 years. But after that, anyone who can work must 
work.
    Change is never easy, and I especially need your help on two crucial 
challenges: fighting crime and reforming our health care system. We need 
to make the criminal justice system work for the victims, not the 
criminals. And we must make the health care system work for all the 
hard-working families in this country, and put an end to the 
inefficiency, the fraud, and the abuse that has made our system the 
world's most expensive and the only one in the advanced world that 
doesn't provide some coverage to every family.
    I'm asking Congress to pass a strong, smart, tough anticrime bill. 
We must tell career criminals, ``If you commit a third violent crime, 
you'll be put away for good; three strikes and you're out.'' We should 
hire 100,000 more police officers to protect our communities. They help 
to reduce the crime rate. We must ban assault weapons that make 
criminals better armed than police. And we need more drug training and 
alternative punishments for young people, like boot camps.
    And this year, we must make history by reforming the health care 
system and providing guaranteed private insurance for every American. 
The First Lady and I have traveled across the country; we've received 
almost a million letters. And you know, the only place where people say 
there's really no health care crisis is right here in Washington where 
so many enjoy secure health benefits at reasonable cost paid for by the 
taxpayers.
    Let's face it, the health insurance system is rigged against 
ordinary families and small businesses. Insurance companies control it: 
They pick and choose whom they cover; they charge more if your business 
is too small; they might not cover you at all or a member of your family 
or one of your employees if you have what they call a preexisting 
condition. Unless we change things, 58 million Americans may have no 
coverage at all for some time this year, and experts say 3 of every 10 
small businesses may be forced to stop covering their employees in the 
years ahead because small business costs are going up so much faster 
than big business and Government costs.
    Let those who say there's no crisis tell it to Rick Tarnow of 
Longview, Texas. He left his job and secure benefits at a large 
corporation to start a small business. Then his son was diagnosed with 
cystic fibrosis. Because of the disease, the son can't get coverage. 
Every insurance

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company tells the Tarnows, ``Until there's a cure for cystic fibrosis, 
we will not cover your child.'' As Rick's wife, Tracy, told my wife, 
``It's devastating enough to learn that your child has a chronic illness 
and then have to deal with the nightmare of insurance.''
    Those who say there's no crisis should tell it to the Janetakos 
family of Woburn, Massachusetts. Twelve years ago, Corrine Janetakos had 
a stroke, leaving her partially paralyzed. Now she and her husband, who 
owns a painting business, have trouble getting insurance because of her 
preexisting condition. She wrote to Hillary because, quote, ``It's been 
very frustrating arguing my dilemma to the numerous insurance companies 
that we've applied to for coverage.''
    Well, with our approach it will be illegal for companies to deny 
anyone coverage for any reason, and every family will have comprehensive 
benefits that can never be taken away. The Tarnow family, the Janetakos 
family, and millions of other Americans live every day with the health 
care crisis. It's time we stopped denying there's a crisis and started 
fixing it.
    Now is the time to debate and decide America's real agenda: health 
care, crime, jobs and skills, welfare reform, more hope for our young 
people. The debate is between those who don't even understand how you 
live and those who understand the urgency of change, between those who 
don't even see these problems and those who are working to solve them, 
between those who are comfortable with deadlock and drift and those who 
call for continuing the American journey of progress and renewal. If you 
raise your voice, the forces of change will prevail.
    With your help, I'll keep speaking out for reforming health care, 
fighting crime, ending welfare as we know it, and improving our skills, 
our schools, and our future. And I'll try not to shout myself hoarse 
tomorrow on Super Bowl Sunday.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.