    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [January 4, 1997]
    [Pages 3-4]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 4, 1997

        Good morning, and Happy New Year. I look forward to 1997 with great
    optimism. As we enter this new year, I'm preparing to enter my second
    term as your President, committed to continuing our mission of preparing
    our people for the 21st century, meeting our new challenges, and
    strengthening our oldest values. We will work to give our people the
    tools they need to make the most of their own lives, to build strong
    families and strong communities. And as we work to expand opportunity,
    we will also seek responsibility from every American.
        This approach is working. In just 4 years we have replaced trickle-
    down economics with invest-and-grow economics, responsibility, and
    opportunity. We've cut the deficit by 60 percent, increased our trade to
    record levels. We have over 11 million new jobs.
        In just 4 years, working with citizens and communities all over
    America to solve our social problems, we have replaced political
    rhetoric with a strategy of giving people the tools to solve their
    problems and demanding responsibility from all of our citizens. It's
    working, too. Crime has dropped for the last 4 years as we work to put
    100,000 police on our streets and take gangs and guns away from our
    children. The welfare rolls have dropped by 2.1 million--that's a record
    reduction--as we work to help people find work but to require them to
    pursue work and education and to be responsible parents.
        But there's still a lot more to do if we're going to make sure the
    American dream is a reality for all of our citizens in the 21st century.
    And we still have some pretty big problems in our society. None stands
    in our way of achieving our goals for America more than the epidemic of
    teen pregnancy. Today I want to talk to you about the progress we've
    made in preventing it and to tell you about the new steps we're taking
    to see to it that our progress carries into the new year and beyond.
        We know many of our social problems have their roots in the
    breakdown of our families. We know children who are born to teen parents
    are more likely to drop out of school, get involved in crime and drugs,
    and end up in poverty; more likely to suffer ill health, even to die as
    infants. And teen parents often find their own lives are changed
    forever. Too many don't finish school, not ever, and therefore they
    never learn the skills they need to succeed as workers and parents in
    our new economy.
        That's why our administration has worked so hard to reduce teen
    pregnancies, to increase responsibility among teen parents, and to
    prepare young people to be good parents at the right time. Last year I
    took executive action to require young mothers to stay in school or lose
    their welfare payments. We challenged members of the private sector to
    take action, and they did, with a national campaign to prevent teen
    pregnancy and community initiatives all over our Nation.
        We're mounting an unprecedented crackdown on child support
    enforcement. Now child support collections are up over 50 percent
    compared to 4 years ago. And we've worked with community-based groups in
    the character education movement in our schools to help parents teach
    young people right from wrong.
        Today we have new evidence that this approach is starting to work.
    Last year we learned that the teen birth rate has dropped for the 4th
    year in a row and that out-of-wedlock birth rates dropped for the first
    time in 19 years. According to a new report by the Department of Health
    and Human Services, the teen birth rates dropped more than 10 percent
    over 3 years in Wisconsin, Washington, and 8 other States. And
    altogether, from 1991 to 1995, the teen birth rate in America has
    dropped by 8 percent.
        The progress we're making on teen pregnancy shows that we can
    overcome even our most

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    stubborn and serious problems. Because of the energy and the effort of
    the American people, as I said, the crime rate is dropping, the welfare
    rolls have dropped dramatically, and poverty is down. We can meet our
    challenges if we'll meet them together, in our homes, our communities,
    and as a nation. But let me be clear: The teen pregnancy rate is still
    intolerably high in America. Too many children are still having
    children. So we must do more. As I enter my second term, I want to tell
    you the new and comprehensive steps my administration will take to
    further reduce the number of out-of-wedlock births.
        First, we'll step up support for programs at the local level that
    work, providing $7\1/2\ million for pioneering programs like the one at
    Emory University in Atlanta, where young people teach their peers about
    abstinence and responsibility.
        Second, we'll spread the word about these programs so that what
    works in one community can be tried quickly in more communities.
        Third, we'll forge even stronger partnerships with businesses,
    clergy, and community groups who are committed to dealing with this
    issue.
        And fourth, we'll see to it that we use the most up-to-date research
    methods to track teen pregnancy trends. We have to make sure our efforts
    are actually paying off.
        Finally, we'll carry out the strong provisions of the welfare reform
    law I signed last year, which requires teen mothers who receive welfare
    not only to stay in school but to live at home or in an adult-supervised
    setting. It sets up second-chance homes where young mothers who can't go
    home still have a safe place to raise a child and turn their lives
    around. And it institutes the toughest ever child support measures.
        We've made some significant progress in the effort against teen
    pregnancy in the last few years. With the new steps I'm announcing
    today, we'll continue our fight against children having children. All of
    you need to help us send the strongest possible message: It's wrong to
    be pregnant or father a child unless you are married and ready to take
    on the responsibilities of parenthood.
        What we're doing to prevent teen pregnancy as a nation is an example
    of how we can master many of the challenges of our time. The National
    Government cannot solve all our problems, but it can help by giving
    individuals, families, and communities the tools they need to take
    responsibility and solve those problems for themselves.
        As President, I'm committed to marshaling all the forces in our
    society to mobilizing our citizens, our communities, our businesses, our
    schools to meet our challenges. That is the way we will keep the promise
    of America alive for all our citizens as we move into the 21st century.
        Thanks for listening, and Happy New Year.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Mahogany Run Golf
    Course in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.