[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[May 7, 1994]
[Pages 858-859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 858]]


The President's Radio Address
May 7, 1994

    Good morning. This week we saw a dramatic example of what we can 
accomplish together when you make your voices heard and Washington sets 
aside partisan differences to do the people's business.
    Even though nearly everyone said it couldn't be done, the House of 
Representatives voted to make our streets safer by banning the sale of 
19 different assault weapons. We pushed hard for this result, and the 
outcome defied the old enemy of gridlock. Democrats and Republicans 
alike sent a powerful message that the American people are determined to 
take their streets, their schools, and their communities back from 
criminals.
    This vote teaches us an important lesson: No matter how uphill a 
battle may seem, when we set our minds to it, we can deal with the 
problems facing our country. Last year it took the same kind of 
commitment to pass a powerful plan to reduce the deficit. And now we're 
seeing the rewards of that.
    Just yesterday, we learned that our economy has created over a 
quarter of a million jobs in April, and almost a million in the first 4 
months of this year alone, about 3 million jobs since we all began this 
effort and nearly all of them in the private sector.
    Our successes in fighting crime and improving the economy are worth 
thinking about on this Mother's Day weekend. We are honoring the people 
who are at the heart of our society's most important institution, the 
family.
    Tomorrow, mothers all across America will enjoy the flowers, cards, 
and breakfasts in bed. But we should remember another gift that will 
improve and prolong their lives: the gift of good health care. Women are 
the people most likely to guard their families' health care and to make 
sure we're all healthier. And yet too often our health care system 
leaves women behind. Even when treatments are available, women don't get 
the necessary health care they need because they have inadequate 
insurance or none at all. More women than men work part-time or in jobs 
without insurance. And historically, research studies on everything from 
heart disease to strokes to AIDS have tended to focus on men, leaving 
women more vulnerable to many diseases.
    I am committed to redressing these inequities. We've made a good 
start. We've got a fine woman, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, Donna Shalala. We created the first senior-level position in 
Government dedicated to women's health concerns. We've increased funds 
to prevent and treat diseases that afflict women. Right now, the largest 
clinical trial in the United States' history is underway, looking at how 
to prevent heart disease, the biggest killer of our women. We launched a 
national action plan on breast cancer to fight the killer of 46,000 
women every year. These women are not just numbers, they are loved ones 
lost forever. And most important, we're pushing to reform the health 
care system.
    The great majority of the letters Hillary and I have received about 
health care reform have been from women, voicing concerns for their 
families, their children, and their parents. One was from a New York 
woman forced to take a job with no medical coverage. Last year, a lump 
was found in her breast, and her doctors said it should be removed. But 
her family can't afford the operation. ``I don't want to die,'' she 
wrote us, ``and because of lack of money, I may. I hope that you'll be 
able to do something soon so that no one will have to go through what I 
am going through.''
    This mother is just 44 years old. I can't share her name because she 
hasn't told her family yet. She doesn't want them to worry. This woman's 
condition may be treatable, but she won't know because treatment is 
simply out of her financial reach.
    Travesties like this happen too often. Women avoid preventive care 
because they're afraid of having records of preexisting conditions that 
will deny them insurance coverage. In a recent survey, 11 percent of 
women said they didn't get their blood pressure checked; 35 percent 
didn't receive a Pap smear; and 44 percent didn't receive a mammogram.
    Our health care plan emphasizes preventive care. It eliminates 
preexisting conditions and bans lifetime limits on health coverage. It 
makes research of women's health problems a priority.

[[Page 859]]

It helps families when a loved one needs long-term care. And it gives 
coverage to everyone, regardless of whether she is healthy or ill, 
married or single, working inside or outside the home.
    For every American blessed with a mother, or the wonderful memory of 
one, I ask you to think about the 16 million women in our Nation who 
don't get the health care services they need. And think about their 
children. Think how a single illness can destroy a family.
    I think of a courageous woman I met this week named Kate Miles, who 
is caring for a son with multiple disabilities. Her family has no 
assistance for long-term care. So to keep her son, Robert, out of a 
nursing home, and because of the awful way our system operates, Kate 
Miles had to give up her job, and her husband, Tom, must work two jobs. 
As she so eloquently put it: ``In an institution, who will be there in 
the middle of the night when he's frightened, to tell him it's all right 
and that his mother loves him?'' No mother should have to know such 
pain.
    So today I ask every mother's child to send another card this 
Mother's Day. Address it to your Senator or Representative in Congress. 
Tell them this health care reform plan is important, because it may help 
the most important person in your life. And tell them along with mother 
love, most of our mothers taught us that the most important thing in 
life was to be a good person and do the right thing.
    Well, this Mother's Day, the right thing is to make sure that by 
next Mother's Day we never have to worry about the health of our mothers 
being cared for.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:06 p.m. on May 6 in the Roosevelt 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 7.