[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[August 31, 1996]
[Pages 1437-1438]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
August 31, 1996

    Good morning. On this bright Labor Day weekend I'm speaking to you 
from America's heartland, where Vice President Gore, Hillary, Tipper, 
and I are traveling by bus through the small towns and lush farmland of 
Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and my home State of Arkansas.
    I took my train trip to Chicago and this bus trip after Chicago 
because I wanted to look into the faces, the eyes, the hearts of the 
people of our country who work so hard every day, the people I've been 
working hard for and fighting for the last 4 years. I just wish every 
American could have been with me--could have been with me just to see 
the hope and the courage of the people I've met. We're meeting a lot of 
people with big dreams, American dreams. And our American community 
should help these people to realize their dreams. Today I want to talk 
to you about what we can do to help America's working families make the 
most of their own lives.
    It is clearer to me than ever before we are on the right track to 
the 21st century. Our economy is growing, creating opportunity for 
people. Just this week we got new news of how our economy is moving 
forward and creating opportunity. Consumer confidence is the highest in 
years, and in the most recent statistics, economic growth hit 4.8 
percent.
    In the past couple of weeks we've made real progress for working 
families. Ten million Americans got an increase in their incomes when we 
increased the minimum wage law. The same law also protected the pensions 
of small-business people and made it easier for employees of small 
businesses to get retirement security and to keep it when they move from 
job to job.
    We passed a $5,000 tax credit to encourage people to adopt children. 
We passed the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill so you don't lose your health 
insurance if you move from job to job or if a member of your family has 
been sick. This Labor Day, it's a time of real progress

[[Page 1438]]

and real opportunity for America's working people.
    But all this progress doesn't mean we can stand still. We still have 
a lot to do to get ready for the 21st century. As I told our Nation 
Thursday night, we can have an America with safe streets, good schools, 
thriving businesses, healthy families, and a strong, clean environment. 
That's the America that I want to build a bridge to, a bridge to the 
21st century.
    We should make college available to all young Americans. Now that 
we've ended welfare as we know it, it must be a national mission to 
provide jobs for the people who will move off welfare. We must clean up 
two-thirds of the toxic waste sites in America, so our children live 
near parks, not poison.
    We can do more, much more, to give every American family the 
security that comes from owning their own home. A home of your own has 
always been at the center of American life. It gives families security 
and pride. For most families it's the main form of financial savings. 
Owning a home gives every young couple a stake in the American dream.
    Our administration has put in place a comprehensive strategy to 
increase homeownership, including dramatically bringing down mortgage 
rates. In the last 4 years, 4.4 million more Americans became 
homeowners; that's the highest level in 15 years. Home sales are rising 
over twice as fast this year as in each of the past 3 years. I'm 
especially pleased by this good news because it shows that our 
comprehensive strategy for homeownership is working.
    By cutting paperwork at the FHA and giving families a break, we're 
cutting the average closing costs for first-time homebuyers by about 
$1,000. By cutting the Federal budget deficit by more than 60 percent, 
we've had on average the lowest home mortgage rates in 30 years. And as 
interest rates dropped, 10 million homeowners refinanced their 
mortgages, all of them together saving as much as $25 billion.
    This week I propose to do even more. We should say that if a couple 
sells their home and the increase in value is up to $500,000, they will 
not have to pay any tax on the gain from the sale of that home. This can 
help millions of American older couples selling their homes to retire, 
middle class families who have to move from community to community for 
work, residents in inner-city neighborhoods where home prices are low 
but may go higher. It will spur home sales in an already strong housing 
market.
    For working families, their home is the most important asset, their 
biggest financial investment. Our tax cut means that working families 
will never have to pay taxes when they sell their homes. That's the 
right kind of tax cut for America.
    This tax cut, like every one I've proposed, is fully paid for in my 
balanced budget plan. We won't bust the budget to pay for tax cuts. 
We'll cut spending and close corporate loopholes. That way we'll keep 
interest rates coming down as we balance the budget, so the economy can 
grow even faster and stronger.
    We should cut taxes to help working families meet their real needs 
for education, for medical expenses, to help raise children, and for 
homebuying. These tax cuts will help our economy. It will help to keep 
America growing. I look forward to taking our argument for opportunity, 
responsibility, and community to the American people.
    On this Labor Day weekend, I know that our values are strong, our 
confidence is high, and hope is back in America. We are on the right 
track. This will be an age of great possibility for our people. If we 
give every American the tools to thrive, the chance to own their own 
home, this coming century can be the greatest moment in American 
history. We need to build a bridge to it.
    Happy Labor Day, and thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 4:30 p.m. on August 30 aboard the 
President's bus, Greyhound One, in Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau, MO, 
for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 31.