[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[January 1, 1997]
[Pages i-xii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page i]]

                     PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

                                 OF THE

                              UNITED STATES

[[Page ii]



[[Page iii]]

[Picture not available in text]



[[Page iv]]

                            Published by the
                     Office of the Federal Register
              National Archives and Records Administration

                             For sale by the
                       Superintendent of Documents
                     U.S. Government Printing Office
                          Washington, DC 20402


[[Page v]]

                                Foreword

    On the morning of May 2, 1997, on the banks of the Tidal Basin, I 
participated in the dedication ceremony for the Franklin Delano 
Roosevelt Memorial, honoring this great leader of the ``American 
Century.'' Later that afternoon, in Baltimore, Maryland, I announced an 
historic agreement to balance the Federal budget. These two events--one, 
a reflection on our past, the other, a promise for our future--embodied 
the new American consensus on the role of Government that I have worked 
hard to forge since my first days as President.

    We have quelled the contentious debate between those who view 
Government as the problem and those who view it as the solution. It is 
neither--as I stated in my Second Inaugural Address, which I had the 
great privilege to deliver. The challenges of a new age require not 
time-worn slogans but action. They require a limited, flexible 
Government characterized by fiscal discipline, enlightened innovation, 
and a commitment to creating opportunity for all Americans. The 
Government's role--and its responsibility--is to affirm these cherished 
values in changing times.

    Committed to these principles, America entered 1997 peaceful and 
secure, prosperous and stable, and determined to meet the challenges of 
the 21st Century. We discarded outdated dogmas and forged new 
relationships. In our own hemisphere, we celebrated the close friendship 
between the United States and Mexico, redefining our partnership in the 
face of new priorities--from combating drugs to preserving the 
environment. Across the Atlantic, where the barricades of the Cold War 
once stood, we built new alliances for global security and commerce. We 
completed new agreements: from the ratification of the landmark Chemical 
Weapons Convention, to the Founding Act that joins NATO and the Russian 
Federation in practical cooperation. In Helsinki, President Yeltsin and 
I agreed to pursue even deeper cuts in our nuclear arsenals. And in 
Denver, where I hosted the annual summit of the world's industrialized 
democracies, we worked to combat new security threats, prepared our 
countries to succeed in the global economy, and opened a new chapter in 
the history of Europe.

    Here at home, too, we set new and higher goals, refusing to grow 
complacent in our success. America's economy was the strongest in a 
generation. Inflation remained low while employment surged, defying 
conventional wisdom, and both crime rates and welfare rolls were down 
dramatically. And to ensure that all Americans will share in the promise 
of the new century, I launched a national campaign to lift our standards 
of education. In my State of the Union Address I called not for a 
Federal mandate, but for a national commitment to tough, smart standards 
in education basics.

    In June, at the University of California at San Diego, I opened a 
national dialogue on another challenge: race. When we finally lift the 
burden of race, it will not be because a law made it happen. It will be 
because the American people confronted and dispelled the myths that 
divide us. Americans of all backgrounds have responded to this 
challenge, leaving me more confident than ever that we will not come 
apart but come together; that we will enter the 21st Century not as 
separate, distinct groups, but as one America--at once diverse, and as 
the Founders declared, indivisible.

                                          


[[Page vii]]

                                 Preface

    This book contains the papers and speeches of the 42d President of 
the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary 
during the period January 1-June 30, 1997. The material has been 
compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
Archives and Records Administration.

    The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates 
shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In 
instances when the release date differs from the date of the document 
itself, that fact is shown in the textnote. Every effort has been made 
to ensure accuracy: Remarks are checked against a tape recording, and 
signed documents are checked against the original. Textnotes and cross 
references have been provided by the editors for purposes of 
identification or clarity. Speeches were delivered in Washington, DC, 
unless indicated. The times noted are local times. All materials that 
are printed full-text in the book have been indexed in the subject and 
name indexes, and listed in the document categories list.

    The Public Papers of the Presidents series was begun in 1957 in 
response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications 
Commission. An extensive compilation of messages and papers of the 
Presidents covering the period 1789 to 1897 was assembled by James D. 
Richardson and published under congressional authority between 1896 and 
1899. Since then, various private compilations have been issued, but 
there was no uniform publication comparable to the Congressional Record 
or the United States Supreme Court Reports. Many Presidential papers 
could be found only in the form of mimeographed White House releases or 
as reported in the press. The Commission therefore recommended the 
establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, 
addresses, and remarks of a public nature could be made available.

    The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of 
the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, issued under 
section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 1506), which may be 
found in title 1, part 10, of the Code of Federal Regulations.

    A companion publication to the Public Papers series, the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents, was begun in 1965 to provide a 
broader range of Presidential materials on a more timely basis to meet 
the needs of the contemporary reader. Beginning with the administration 
of Jimmy Carter, the Public Papers series expanded its coverage to 
include additional material as printed in the Weekly Compilation. That 
coverage provides a listing of the President's daily schedule and 
meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by 
the Office of the Press Secretary. Also included are lists of the 
President's nominations submitted to the Senate, materials released by 
the Office of the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the 
book, and proclamations, Executive orders, and other Presidential 
documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in 
the Federal Register. This information appears in the appendixes at the 
end of the book.

    Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Truman, 
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush are 
also included in the Public Papers series.


[[Page viii]]

    The Public Papers of the Presidents publication program is under the 
direction of Frances D. McDonald, Director of the Presidential Documents 
and Legislative Division. The series is produced by the Presidential 
Documents Unit, Gwen H. Estep, Chief. The Chief Editor of this book was 
Karen Howard Ashlin, assisted by Scott Andreae, Brad Brooks, Anna 
Glover, Margaret A. Hemmig, Carolyn W. Hill, Maxine Hill, Michael 
Hoover, Alfred Jones, and Michael J. Sullivan.

    The frontispiece and photographs used in the portfolio were supplied 
by the White House Photo Office. The typography and design of the book 
were developed by the Government Printing Office under the direction of 
Michael F. DiMario, Public Printer.

Raymond A. Mosley
Director of the Federal Register

John W. Carlin
Archivist of the United States


[[Page ix]]

                                Contents

            Foreword . . . v

            Preface . . . vii

            Cabinet . . . xi

            Public Papers of William J. Clinton,
            January 1-June 30, 1997 . . . 1

            Appendix A
            Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 853

            Appendix B
            Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 867

            Appendix C
            Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 879

            Appendix D
            Presidential Documents Published in the Federal Register . . . 891

            Subject Index . . . A-1

            Name Index . . . B-1

            Document Categories List . . . C-1

[[Page xi]]

                               Cabinet

   Secretary of State..............   Madeleine K. Albright

   Secretary of the Treasury.......   Robert E. Rubin

   Secretary of Defense............   William S. Cohen

   Attorney General................   Janet Reno

   Secretary of the Interior.......   Bruce Babbitt

   Secretary of Agriculture........   Dan Glickman

   Secretary of Commerce...........   William M. Daley

   Secretary of Labor..............   Alexis M. Herman

   Secretary of Health and Human...   Donna E. Shalala
   Services

   Secretary of Housing and Urban..   Andrew M. Cuomo
   Development

   Secretary of Transportation.....   Rodney E. Slater

   Secretary of Energy.............   Federico Pena

   Secretary of Education..........   Richard W. Riley

   Secretary of Veterans Affairs...   Jesse Brown

   United States Representative....   Bill Richardson
   to the United Nations

   Administrator of the............   Carol M. Browner
   Environmental Protection Agency
        Protection Agency

   United States Trade.............   Charlene Barshefsky
   Represenatative

   Director of the Office of.......   Franklin D. Raines
   Management and Budget

[[Page xii]

   Chief of Staff to the President.   Erskine B. Bowles

   Counselor to the President......   Thomas F. McLarty III

   Chair of the Council of Economic   Janet Yellen
   Advisers

   Director of National Drug Control  Barry R. McCaffrey
   Policy

   Administrator of the Small.......  Aida Alvarez
   Business Administration

   Director of the Federal Emergency  James Lee Witt
   Management Agency