    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [August 23, 1994]
    [Pages 1491-1493]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994
    August 23, 1994

        Good morning. Thank you. Please be seated. It was such a beautiful
    and, for August, a cool summer day, we thought we ought to move to the
    Rose Garden today and give us all a chance to enjoy this wonderful
    beauty.
        Senator Wofford, Congressman Lewis, Martin Luther King III, Mr.
    Segal, ladies and gentlemen, we're here for the signing of the King
    Holiday and Service Act of 1994. And I have some words I want to say
    about that, but if I might, I'd like to mention a few things about the
    service that the Congress is engaged in performing at the present moment
    with regard to the crime bill.
        On Sunday evening Democrats and Republicans in the House produced a
    victory for all Americans by passing the bill. They showed that with a
    little faith and a lot of hard work, they could reach across the
    partisan divide that have held this country back for too long to pass a
    bill that is both tough and smart, that is firm and compassionate, that
    gives us a chance to lower the crime rate and make our people safer.
        Many of the best ideas in the bill were ones contributed by both
    Democrats and Republicans: to put 100,000 police on the streets, to keep
    violent offenders off the streets with longer sentences and ``three
    strikes and you're out,'' to prohibit juveniles from owning handguns, to

    [[Page 1492]]

    ban assault weapons, to provide innovative and proven prevention
    programs to give our children a chance to have a better future--
    programs, I want to emphasize, that were sponsored in this legislation
    by members of both parties.
        And one of the best ideas in the bill was also supported in both
    Houses by members of both parties, that is, to establish a trust fund
    funded by the reductions in the Federal work force over the next 6
    years, 270,000, to bring our Federal Government to its smallest size in
    over 30 years and to give all that money back to our local communities
    for police, for punishment, and for prevention, not by raising taxes,
    not by cutting other services but simply reducing the size of the
    Federal Government to its lowest point in 30 years. This trust fund was
    sponsored by leaders from both parties, including Senators Byrd,
    Mitchell, and Biden for the Democrats, Senators Dole, Gramm, and Hatch
    for the Republicans. It passed the Senate by a vote of 94 to 4 the first
    time.
        When this bill comes back, it will be a little different from the
    bill that passed the Senate, but not much. It lasts 6 years instead of 5
    years. It has some more money for border patrol and other problems. But
    it's not much bigger on an annual basis, and it's all paid for in the
    same way. Every Senator, without regard to party, ought to continue the
    bipartisan spirit that was established in the House for an American
    approach to an American problem. That is the service we ought to be
    performing today, to make this an American crime bill and to do it
    without delay.
        The King Holiday and Service Act of 1994 in this bill combines for
    the very first time our national holiday in honor of Dr. King with a
    national day of service. Nothing could be more appropriate, for it was
    Dr. King who said everyone can be great because everyone can serve. I
    always think of the great line he said, that if a person was a street
    sweeper, he ought to sweep the streets as if he were Michelangelo
    painting the Sistine Chapel and try to be the best one in the whole
    world. That is what I think all of us ought to be about doing.
        Dr. King taught us that our faith can redeem us, that the sacrifices
    of individuals can sustain us, that moral courage can guide us. He
    dedicated himself to what was in his time and what remains the most
    difficult challenge we face as a democratic people: closing the great
    gap between our words and our deeds.
        Now we are attempting in this bill and in this administration to
    accept this challenge for those who are still barred from the American
    dream and for those who worry that their children will have less of it
    than they had. We're doing our best here to give Government back to
    ordinary citizens, with an administration that is really more like
    America than any ever has been, not only in terms of its racial and
    gender diversity but also in its commitment to excellence, with 4
    million new jobs, 20 million young people eligible for reduced college
    loans, 15 million working families getting tax cuts, and 3 years of
    reduction in our deficit for the first time since Mr. Truman was the
    President.
        We demanded fairness in all public services and especially in
    housing, not only in Vidor, Texas, but all across the United States. We
    fought to empower the next generation of our working people, beginning
    with Head Start and world-class educational standards, and
    apprenticeship programs for those who don't go to college, and more and
    less expensive college loans and national service for those who wish to
    pursue higher education. We fought to strengthen our communities with
    empowerment zones and community development banks. And we fought to make
    our people safer with the Brady bill and hopefully with this crime bill.
        But we know and we learn here every day that laws alone cannot
    restore the American family, cannot give individuals the sense of self-
    worth and purpose, cannot make the American community what it ought to
    be. It takes the miracle that begins with personal choices and personal
    actions and that cuts through the fog of cynicism and negativism that
    grips every American from time to time and has often gripped this
    country too much.
        Giving every citizen at the grassroots a chance to make a difference
    in his or her own life is a big part of what our efforts are all about.
    This law helps us to do that by linking the observance of Dr. King's
    birthday to a day of national service, an extraordinary idea and a
    timely one because just next month we will launch AmeriCorps in full-
    blown initiative, with 20,000 young people serving their communities at
    the grassroots level and earning some credit to further their education
    while doing so. Nothing could better serve the legacy of Dr. King. He
    was apathy's sworn enemy and action's tireless champion.

    [[Page 1493]]

        The King Commission has already sponsored seven national youth
    assemblies where young people address issues for themselves, such as
    drug abuse, illiteracy, and the importance of staying in school. The
    largest and most recent assembly took place in the capital of my home
    State, Little Rock, where Governor Tucker hosted 1,300 young people.
    Overall, the Commission has already helped to recruit 4\1/2\ million
    young people to sign a pledge where they say no to violence and drugs
    and yes to serving in their communities. That is a truly revolutionary
    achievement.
        With today's action we can broaden that effort. We can give many
    more an opportunity to make a difference, to respond to the needs of
    their communities, whether through tutoring children or housing the
    homeless, improving parks or keeping our people safer. As Senator
    Wofford has said in what I think is one of his best statements, ``The
    King holiday should be a day on, not a day off.''
        Dr. King's time with us was too brief. But his vision was so great,
    his moral purpose was so strong that he made us believe that we could be
    better than we are and that someday we would be able to walk hand in
    hand together into a brighter tomorrow.
        He said, and I quote, ``Every man must decide whether he will walk
    in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive
    selfishness. Life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you
    doing for others?''
        Today we can say with some pride we have given all Americans a
    better chance to work together and to help others. This celebration of
    Dr. King will now be a celebration of his vision of community, his
    vision of service. And his life proves that it will work for all
    Americans and for our country.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:30 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Eli J. Segal, Assistant to the
    President and Director of the Office of National Service. H.R. 1933,
    approved August 23, was assigned Public Law No. 103-304.