    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [November 26, 1994]
    [Pages 2125-2126]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 2125]]

    The President's Radio Address
    November 26, 1994

        Good morning, and a happy Thanksgiving weekend to all of you. To the
    millions of Americans who have traveled to be with loved ones during
    this special time of year, I wish you a safe and peaceful journey home.
    We Americans have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
        On behalf of all of our citizens, I want to begin by thanking our
    brave service men and women who are so many miles from home this
    Thanksgiving, serving our country with honor overseas, in every corner
    of the world and especially those who are working at restoring democracy
    in Haiti and keeping the peace in the Persian Gulf.
        This is the first Thanksgiving since the dawn of the nuclear age
    when parents can tuck their children into bed at night knowing that no
    Russian missiles are pointed at the children of the United States. The
    third largest nuclear power, Ukraine, has just agreed to eliminate all
    of its nuclear weapons, and they're being dismantled with our
    assistance. Just this week, the United States removed a major nuclear
    stockpile, enough for 20 nuclear devices from the former Soviet republic
    of Kazakhstan. And finally, we have concluded an agreement with North
    Korea to freeze and dismantle that country's ability to build nuclear
    weapons.
        Over the past year, we've also been privileged to see the American
    dreams of freedom, democracy, and peace advanced with our support in the
    Middle East, in Northern Ireland, in South Africa, in Haiti, and Eastern
    and Central Europe, full of people who are making courageous efforts to
    escape the shackles of the past and realize their own dreams for
    tomorrow.
        For America to remain strong, however, around the world, we know we
    have to be strong at home. Therefore, we must keep striving to keep our
    Government working again for ordinary Americans, to improve our economy,
    to give our people the chance to build a more prosperous and secure
    future in the 21st century.
        We're in the process of great changes, but we have more to do. We
    have 5 million more jobs than we had 22 months ago, but still too many
    people who never get a pay raise and who are losing their health
    benefits. We have more loans for middle class college students. But
    still there are too many who need more education all throughout their
    lives, including working people. We have a tough new crime bill, but
    there's a lot to do to make our streets safer.
        We've done things for working families like the family leave law and
    tax cuts for 15 million families who live on modest incomes. But there's
    still too much family breakup. There are too many children born where
    there were never families in the first place. There's a lot to be done
    here.
        We're making great changes in our Government. It's smaller, it's
    more effective, but there is still more to be done before we liberate
    our National Government from the stranglehold of special interests.
        We must be thankful, with all of our challenges, for what's right
    with America. And we have to remember that the real strength of our
    country is still in the work of our citizens. They're the ones who keep
    our country strong, who keep us together, who keep us moving forward.
    They're what America is all about, people who take responsibility to
    improve their own lives and to make a difference in the lives of others.
        I'm committed to make your Government work for ordinary Americans
    again. Nobody wants Government on our backs, but we do need a strong, if
    limited, Government by our side. Everything we do in Washington should
    be as relevant and responsive to your lives as the work of those just
    around you.
        Consider the Americans who are fighting crime. Just last month,
    several strangers in New York City came to the rescue of a man who was
    being mugged and stabbed as he tried to use a bank teller machine. These
    brave heroes helped the victim to safety and then held the assailant
    down until police could come to make an arrest. Our new crime bill puts
    100,000 more police on the streets and takes military assault weapons
    off the streets, but we still need citizens like this to make our
    streets safe.
        Remember the Americans who are doing so much to help others. Every
    day thousands of members of our new domestic Peace Corps,

    [[Page 2126]]

    AmeriCorps, are working to make our people smarter, safer, and
    healthier. Out in rural Kansas, Nanci Ridge has been trained by
    AmeriCorps to give emergency medical assistance. Now every day she helps
    police or fire departments or teaches school kids safety. But she spent
    Thanksgiving fielding emergencies at the local county hospital, giving
    some of the regular staff the holiday off and keeping the country
    protected. That's what AmeriCorps is about; that's what America's about.
        And finally, let's think about the Americans who are doing so much
    to help our children live up to their God-given potential. Five years
    ago in Buffalo, New York, Lloyd Hargrave helped start a parent resource
    center to get parents more involved in the education of their children.
    Today, the center offers nightly tutoring programs to help parents do a
    better job at helping their children learn. And the center lends
    computers to families that otherwise wouldn't have them in their homes.
        Working with children in that way is one of the most important
    things any of us can do to keep our country strong. Our Government can
    help, and we are. We're expanding Head Start, promoting programs in our
    schools like character education. But in the end, children need to know
    that adults care about them, that they're part of a loving family, a
    caring community. They need to be told by someone that they're the most
    important person in the world.
        So this holiday season as we count our blessings and face our
    challenges, let us commit ourselves to giving our children a future they
    can be thankful for every Thanksgiving for a long, long time.
        I hope you enjoy this holiday weekend, and thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 10:29 a.m. on November 25 in the
    Laurel Lodge at Camp David, MD, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November
    26.