    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [February 8, 1997]
    [Pages 133-134]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    February 8, 1997

        The President. Good morning. This morning the Vice President and I
    are going to talk about the progress we've made to bring 21st century
    technology to our students and our schools.
        In my State of the Union Address Tuesday night, I issued a call to
    action to all Americans to prepare our people for the 21st century. The
    very heart of this mission and my number one priority these next 4 years
    is to give our children the best education in the world.
        Education is about opportunity, about giving our children the tools
    to make the most of their God-given potential. This is a goal every
    American must share for every other American. That's why I'm calling for
    a new, nonpartisan commitment to education. During the cold war, America
    had a bipartisan commitment to foreign policy and politics stopped at
    the water's edge. Today, education is a critical national security issue
    for our future, and our politics must stop at the schoolhouse door.
        My plan calls for world-class standards for students, teachers, and
    schools. It calls for expanding Head Start, rebuilding crumbling
    schools, opening the doors of college wider than ever before, and
    ensuring that workers can learn and earn for a lifetime.
        To give our children the best education, we must help them to
    harness the powerful forces of technology. That's why we've challenged
    America to connect every classroom and library to the Internet by the
    year 2000. For the first time in history, children in the most isolated
    rural towns, the most comfortable suburbs, and the poorest inner-city
    schools will have the same access to the same universe of knowledge.
        We've come a long way toward meeting that goal, and we owe much of
    that progress to the leadership of the Vice President who will now say a
    few words about our efforts.

    [At this point, the Vice President made brief remarks.]

        The President. Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We are making a lot of
    progress. Today we're issuing a report prepared by Secretary Riley and
    the Department of Education that shows that 65 percent of our schools
    are now connected to the Internet, almost double the number of schools
    connected in 1994. But it's not enough to connect every school; we must
    connect every classroom and every library as well. Since 1994, we have
    more than quadrupled the number of classrooms with a direct link to the
    Internet, but the vast majority still do not have access. That's why
    we're now launching an aggressive, three-part plan to finish the job.

    [[Page 134]]

        First, my balanced budget plan makes an unprecedented commitment to
    education technology, doubling the technology literacy initiative the
    Vice President just mentioned and providing a total of $500 million for
    computers, teacher training, and educational software for our schools.
        Second, we're working to ensure that every school and library can
    afford the Internet. Under the Telecommunications Act, the Federal
    Communications Commission is now developing a plan to give schools and
    libraries access to the Internet at a dramatically discounted rate. Fees
    for most schools will be cut in half. Fees for our poorest schools will
    be almost free. I urge the FCC to act quickly. And I call upon the
    telecommunications industry to support this effort.
        Third, this April 19th, parents, teachers, business people, and
    volunteers from all walks of life will answer our call and hold NetDays
    in all 50 States, connecting tens of thousands of schools, classrooms,
    and libraries to the Internet.
        By doubling our investment in education technology, by dramatically
    lowering the Internet rates for schools and libraries by mobilizing
    Americans all across the country to help wire our schools, we will meet
    our goal of connecting every classroom and library to the information
    superhighway by the year 2000. That's how we must prepare our children
    for the 21st century, with the full promise of the information age at
    their fingertips. And it's an important way to give our children the
    world's best education and the chance to make the most of their own
    lives.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 12:38 p.m. on February 7 in the
    Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on
    February 8.