[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[April 9, 1994]
[Pages 658-660]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
April 9, 1994

    Good morning. This past week, I traveled across our country because 
I wanted the American people to hear directly from me about the progress 
we're making on their behalf and what we still have to do. Last month, 
our Nation gained 456,000 new jobs, the largest jump in 6 years. That 
brings the total number of private sector jobs created in this economy 
during our recovery to 2.3 million. That's twice as many new jobs in the 
past 14 months than we saw in the previous 4 years. I'm determined to 
keep building on that strength. Our job is to fix the economy and to 
give our people tools, like world-class education and health care 
security, so that they can compete and we can strengthen the great 
American middle class as we move toward the 21st century.
    In my travels this week, people made it clear to me they expect us 
here in Washington to take care of one job immediately: to confront the 
crime and violence that are tearing our communities apart. None of our 
efforts to tackle other problems will work if we fail to address the 
overwhelming force of crime. It is reducing the sense of freedom the 
American people have.
    If we can't stop people from hurting one another, we can never 
reduce the burden on our health care system and the fact that we have 
too much crime, too much violence, and too many people showing up in our 
emergency rooms. If we can't make our classrooms safe, we can't teach 
our children. If we don't replace drug money with good jobs and a steady 
paycheck, our people will never lose their fear and gain hope.

[[Page 659]]

    I'm convinced the American people want a crime policy that works 
without gimmicks and they want our leaders to make it possible for them 
to take back their streets, their homes, their schools, and their lives. 
That's why this week I ordered Attorney General Janet Reno and the 
Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Henry Cisneros, to promptly 
develop a policy allowing police to sweep public housing so that 
criminals cannot find shelter in the places they terrorize.
    I took this action just hours after a Federal district judge in 
Chicago declared the Chicago Housing Authority's search policy a 
violation of the fourth amendment to the Constitution. We have to take 
some action to permit appropriate law enforcement work to go on in these 
projects. I have been in the Chicago housing projects, and I know the 
difference between those that have been swept free of illegal weapons 
and criminals and those which have not. Just last weekend, 13 people 
died violently in Chicago, 3 of them in the Robert Taylor Public Housing 
Project.
    All Americans, rich and poor alike, deserve leaders they can rely on 
to protect their safety. Congress will have a chance to provide that 
kind of leadership when it comes back into session this Tuesday. The 
crime bill will be item number one on its agenda. Next week, police 
officers, mayors, and other community leaders all across our America 
will come here to Washington to join me at the White House to urge 
Congress to pass the crime bill. For 6 long years, we've waited for a 
comprehensive crime law. We shouldn't have to wait any longer.
    The crime bill I have proposed to the Congress is both tough and 
smart. Right now, a small number of dangerous criminals commit a large 
proportion of the violent crimes because our system doesn't put them 
away. The crime bill sends a simple message, ``three strikes and you're 
out''; commit three violent crimes, and you go to prison for life. The 
crime bill will help States build 33,000 more prison cells, along with 
boot camps for first-time offenders. It will help us to lock the 
revolving door that swings too freely on serious criminals and give 
young people a chance to avoid a life of crime.
    The bill also will help us put another 100,000 police officers on 
our streets. More police in community policing settings means not only 
that more criminals will be caught, it means that there will be less 
crime. When police walk the streets, know their neighbors, win the 
respect of local young people, focus on high crime areas, and work with 
parents and business people, they can actually reduce crime. I have seen 
it in city after city after city.
    Preventing violence from occurring in the first place is also an 
important part of our crime bill. It encourages young people to stay off 
the streets, offering employment opportunities, afterschool activities, 
and good role models who teach strong values. These boot camps and other 
similar operations will give us a chance to send first-time offenders to 
a disciplinary setting who might otherwise go free. But they'll also 
give these young people a second chance to avoid a lifetime of trouble, 
a chance to learn new discipline and how to behave responsibly.
    We're doing more to make the schools safe and to get hard-core drug 
users into the treatment they need. But telling our kids to say no to 
drugs is only half the battle. If we want children to grow up to become 
law-abiding members of society, we have to help them find a place in 
tomorrow's economy to give them something to say yes to.
    You and I both know Government can't do this job alone, nor should 
it. The most law-abiding societies are not those with the most jails. 
They're the ones with good jobs, strong families, and strong 
communities, where the rights of the community are respected, with 
strong values about helping, not hurting, one's neighbors. Let's face 
it: In a lot of places in this country, crime, drugs, and violence now 
fill the spaces where work and family and community used to be. So the 
job of all Americans is urgent. That's why I'm calling on everyone in 
Washington to put their partisanship aside. The American people don't 
want politics or gimmicks; they want us to do something that will work. 
Well, this crime bill will work. Next week, it's time for Congress to be 
tough and smart by passing the crime bill when it comes back into 
session. I hope you'll do your part by asking your Congressmen and 
Senators to see that the crime bill becomes law.
    Finally, let me say just a brief word about a very tragic situation 
in the African nation of Rwanda. I'm deeply concerned about the 
continuing violence following the assassination of the President, the 
Prime Minister, and other officials as well as some of our United 
Nations peacekeepers. There are about 250 Americans there. I'm very 
concerned about their safety,

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and I want you to know that we're doing all we can to ensure their 
safety. I ask you to join together this morning in praying for their 
safety and for a return to peace in Rwanda.
    Thanks for your help, and thanks for listening.

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