    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [August 24, 1996]
    [Pages 1334-1335]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    August 24, 1996

        Good morning. As I speak to you today, America can look back on a
    week of remarkable achievement.
        Together we enacted a law to ensure you can take your health
    insurance from job to job and never be denied insurance just because you
    or someone in your family has been sick. Together we made pensions more
    secure and raised the minimum wage to make it easier for working parents
    to raise their children. Together

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    we tore down a failed welfare system to move millions of people from
    welfare to work while protecting their children. And together we enacted
    the toughest ever measures to cut off children's access to tobacco
    products.
        America is on the right track, offering more opportunity, demanding
    more responsibility, building a stronger community, a sense of shared
    values, and stronger families.
        Today I want to talk about something else we have to do to really
    strengthen America's families, making sure that children can walk home
    from school or play in their backyards without the plague of violence.
    We've certainly come a long way, with sweeping anti-crime measures that
    have helped to reduce our crime rate for 4 years in a row now. We passed
    the Brady bill, which already has stopped 60,000 felons, fugitives, and
    stalkers from buying handguns. We're putting 100,000 new police officers
    on the beat and banning assault weapons. And we're giving our children
    something to say yes to, some positive activities and strong role models
    to build better futures.
        But nothing is more threatening to our families and communities and
    more destructive of our basic values than sex offenders who victimize
    children and families. Study after study tell us that they often repeat
    the same crimes. That's why we have to stop sex offenders before they
    commit their next crime, to make our children safe and give their
    parents peace of mind.
        Since taking office, I have undertaken an aggressive three-part plan
    to stop sexual predators. First, our crime bill required every State in
    the Nation to keep track of sex offenders. That law is working. Just
    this week, a previously convicted sex offender who had moved to a new
    neighborhood in Illinois was arrested for molesting a 9-year-old boy.
    The police caught him only because they had come to his home to register
    him under our new law.
        Second, I signed Megan's Law, which required States to notify
    communities when sex offenders move into the neighborhood. Now we're
    taking the third and most important step. Sixty days ago I directed the
    Attorney General to draw up a plan for a national registry of sex
    offenders. That plan has now reached my desk. Today I am pleased to
    announce that we are following through on our commitment to keep track
    of these criminals, not just in a single State but wherever they go,
    wherever they move, so that parents and police have the warning they
    need to protect our children. Our reasoning is simple. Deadly criminals
    don't stay within State lines, so neither should law enforcement's tools
    to stop them.
        Here's how it will work. Every time a sex offender is released,
    their State will force them to register. Then the FBI will compile these
    State lists into a national data base. Within 6 months, a new computer
    network will give States information from every other State for the very
    first time. A police officer in Cleveland could get information about
    any known sex offenders in Cleveland, even if the crimes were committed
    in New York or Los Angeles. Then they will share that information with
    the families and communities that have a right to know. This national
    registry sends a simple message to those who would prey on our children:
    The law will follow you wherever you go.
        To meet the parents who have had their children stolen from them, to
    see how these hateful acts destroy whole families and communities is to
    know that we need more than local solutions to stop these criminals. We
    need the resources and resolve of our whole national law enforcement
    team working together.
        Above all, we must move forward to the day when we are no longer
    numb to acts of violence against children, when their appearance on the
    evening news is both shocking and very rare. Our approach is working.
    We're putting cops on the beat, taking guns, drugs, and criminals off
    the streets. More and more, our children can learn and play and dream
    without risk of harm. That is an America that is moving in the right
    direction.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:55 p.m. on August 23 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 24.