[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

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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.

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    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.