    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 17, 1997]
    [Pages 753-755]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing a Memorandum on Strengthening Enforcement of
    Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
    June 17, 1997

        The President. Thank you very much. As you might imagine, Hillary
    and I have looked forward to this day with great anticipation, and we
    have discussed these issues together for more than 25 years now.
    Actually, we met before title IX; that's one thing I managed to do
    without the benefit of Federal law. [Laughter]
        I thank Secretary Riley for his wonderful leadership. And thank you,
    Anne, for your introduction. You did so well, if you ever get tired of
    science I think public affairs would treat you well. Thank you, Jackie,
    for being a wonderful role model and a great person. Thank you, Verelett
    Allen and Captain Robin Forster, Dr. Nelba Chavez. And I'd like to say a
    special thank you to Sally Ride and tell you that tomorrow is the 14th
    anniversary of her famous ride.
        There are so many distinguished people in the audience I hesitate to
    start, but I would be remiss if I did not thank former Senator Birch
    Bayh for his leadership in this endeavor. Thank you, sir. You're a good
    man.
        And I'd like to thank the eighth graders from the Thomas Edison
    Center for Technology who are here and I hope are being inspired about
    the future. And I would like to ask the members of the Congressional
    Women's Caucus who are here to stand and be recognized. All the Members
    of Congress who are here, please stand. Thank you.
        We are here to celebrate title IX, but even more, we're here to
    celebrate the God-given talent of every woman and girl who has been
    benefited by it. Title IX did not create their successes, but it did
    give them the chance to make the most of their abilities. We have heard
    about the difference it has made in the lives of millions of young girls
    and young women. We know about the confidence that it has built, the
    expectations it has helped to set, the achievements it has helped to
    inspire.
        Today I also want to say that in my view title IX has had a
    beneficial impact on every American citizen. If we've learned anything
    in the last 25 years since title IX became law, it is that expanding
    benefits and opportunities for any American helps the rest of us. Wasted
    opportunity diminishes all of us.
        As we prepare for the 21st century, it would be sheer folly for us
    not to take advantage of every ounce of energy and talent and creativity
    every American has to offer. As a nation, that would be our great
    concern. Think what we would be like if there were no Sally Rides or
    Jackie Joyner-Kersees or any one of the countless women whose
    contributions have helped to make our Nation a better place, including,
    I might add, the eight women which now serve in the President's Cabinet,
    a record number.
        Every girl growing up in America today should have the chance to
    become an astronaut or an Olympic athlete, a Cabinet Secretary or a
    Supreme Court Justice, a Nobel Prize winning scientist or President of
    the United States. For 25 years, title IX has helped girls to realize
    their dreams and to achieve them--a lot of people, believe it or not,
    still don't know this--to achieve them not only in athletics but in
    academics as well.
        In addition to the remarkable athletic statistics, Secretary Riley
    told me today that--and Jackie--in 1972, there were 300,000 girls in
    high school athletics. Today, there are 2.3 million. But in addition to
    the athletics, listen to this, in 1972, 9 percent of the medical degrees
    and 7 percent of the law degrees were awarded to women. In 1996, 38
    percent of the medical degrees and 43 percent of the law degrees were
    awarded to women.
        So today we celebrate how far we've come. But we must also recommit
    ourselves to title IX's goal of equality in education, for too many
    schools and education programs still drag their feet and lag behind in
    their responsibility to our young women and girls.
        Today I'm directing every agency and executive department of our
    Government to strengthen their enforcement of title IX within the next
    90 days, by reviewing current procedures, consulting with the Attorney
    General on the best way to improve them, and delivering to me a new and
    vigorous enforcement plan. Every school and every education program that
    receives Federal assistance in the entire country must understand that
    complying with title IX

    [[Page 754]]

    is not optional. It is the law, and the law must be enforced.
        There is no question that we're better off because of title IX, but
    we can go even further to provide all people with the opportunity they
    deserve to make the most of their own lives. A lot of people don't know
    this, either, but currently title IX only applies to educational
    programs and activities that receive funding from the National
    Government. Ironically, it does not apply to the programs that the
    National Government runs itself. These include schools run by the
    Department of Defense, educational research conducted by the Federal
    Government, and educational fellowships awarded directly to students.
        I believe and I surely hope that every American would agree that the
    National Government must hold itself to the same high standards it
    expects from everyone else, especially when it comes to discrimination
    in education. Therefore, today I have sent an executive memorandum to
    all the relevant Federal departments to conduct a review of their
    programs over the next 60 days, report the review to the Attorney
    General. And then after I receive her recommendation, I expect to sign
    an Executive order to prohibit educational discrimination on the basis
    of sex, race, or national origin in federally conducted education
    programs, thereby extending the principles of title IX to Federal
    programs themselves. [Applause] Thank you.
        On the desk outside the Oval Office, there is a little sign with a
    quote from a woman who lives here in Washington. Here's what it says:
    ``I rejoice in others' success, knowing there is plenty for us all.''
    Today we are celebrating, resolving, and moving forward to make sure
    that all of our people, and especially every one of our girls and young
    women have the opportunities they deserve to make the most of their own
    lives. After all, there is plenty for us all. Indeed, I think you could
    make a compelling case that when other people succeed in a constructive
    manner it creates more opportunities for success for the rest of us.
        Finally, let me just add one more item. There is something happening
    today that, like title IX, marks a significant step forward toward
    helping all our young people achieve their full potential. When I
    reached a bipartisan budget agreement with the leaders of Congress last
    month, one of my top goals was to extend health care coverage to
    millions more of our young children. Believe it or not, 10 million
    children in this country still don't have health insurance, and more and
    more, a lot of employer-based health policies are not covering the whole
    family. It is no secret that this is something that Hillary and I have
    worked on for many years and care a great deal about.
        I fought very hard to ensure that $16 billion would be set aside in
    the budget agreement for this purpose. But we did not prescribe in the
    agreement how this money would be spent. The important thing is to use
    it wisely and carefully so that it provides meaningful coverage to as
    many children as possible. I am very pleased that a bipartisan group of
    Senators in the United States Senate and on the Finance Committee have
    come up with some children's legislation that I believe offers that
    promise.
        So today I am proud to say that I will endorse the legislation
    sponsored by Senators Chafee, Rockefeller, Jeffords, and Hatch. The
    Senate Finance Committee is voting on it today, and it will help to give
    a lot of our young children a healthy start in life, without which a lot
    of those young girls might not ever be in a position to take advantage
    of title IX.
        This legislation will be the biggest investment in children's health
    care since Medicaid passed in 1965. It will be the most significant
    thing that we could do, I think, by committing us to providing health
    insurance coverage to up to 5 million uninsured children in providing
    health insurance today that they didn't have yesterday.
        So, we've got a chance once again to prove that if we'll put
    politics aside and work together as we did so many years ago in the
    cause of civil rights, as we celebrate today with title IX, we can make
    America a better place.
        Thank you for being here today. Thank you for the examples you set
    every day, and resolve tomorrow that you will give another young woman
    or girl a chance to make the most of her God-given abilities. Thank you
    very much.

    [At this point, the President signed the memorandum to the heads of
    executive departments and agencies.]

        The President. Thank you. Thanks for coming.

    Note. The President spoke at 11:24 a.m. in Room 450 of the Old Executive
    Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to scientist Anne Jarvis
    Jefferson, who introduced the President; athlete

    [[Page 755]]

    Jackie Joyner-Kersee; Verelett Allen, coordinator, YWCA/HCCE Non-
    Traditional Employment for Women Program; Robin Forster, fire captain,
    Station 10, Parkville, MD; Dr. Nelba Chavez, Administrator, Substance
    Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and former astronaut
    Sally K. Ride. He also referred to title IX of the Education Amendments
    of 1972 (Public Law 92-318).