[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[September 20, 1997]
[Pages 1193-1194]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
September 20, 1997

    Good morning. We're living in a time of great hope and optimism and 
prosperity in our Nation. Our economy is booming. We've cut the deficit 
80 percent and passed a plan to balance the budget. Crime and welfare 
rolls are dropping. But perhaps most important for the long-term future 
of America, this has been a banner year for education, too.
    Our historic balanced budget is truly an education budget, with the 
largest new investment in education since 1965, from more children in 
Head Start to our America Reads program that will mobilize a million 
volunteers to make sure all our children can read when they leave the 
third grade, to putting computers in all our classrooms and libraries by 
the year 2000.
    We've also had the largest increased investment in helping people to 
go on to college since the passage of the GI bill 50 years ago. The 
increased Pell grant scholarships and work study positions, the HOPE 
scholarship to help pay for the first 2 years of college, and other tax 
credits and IRA's, all these things will truly open the doors of college 
to all who are willing to work for it for the first time in American 
history.
    But we can't rest. We have more to do in education to fully prepare 
our children to seize the opportunities of the new century. And 
especially, we all know we have to do more to improve the quality of 
public education.
    I have called upon all Americans to leave politics at the 
schoolhouse door and to work together to provide our children with the 
best education in the world. And many have answered that call. Just last 
week, the Senate voted overwhelmingly, 87 to 12, for voluntary national 
tests in fourth grade reading and eighth grade math, bringing us an 
important step closer to setting high national standards of academic 
excellence that will ensure that no child leaves our schools without 
mastering the basics.
    Unfortunately, two events in recent days have jeopardized this 
essential progress in education. First, the same forces that have 
resisted education reform and high standards and accountability for 
years in the House of Representatives have voted against developing the 
national standards we need to challenge students, improve teaching, 
empower parents, and increase accountability in our schools. In effect, 
they've cast their votes against better schools and for a status quo 
that is failing too many of our children.
    Second, the Senate narrowly passed an amendment that would undermine 
some of our most successful efforts in the last 5 years to strengthen 
our schools. National efforts to bring

[[Page 1194]]

more charter schools to more communities, to bring computers to every 
classroom, to create safe and drug-free schools across our country, all 
these would virtually be abolished by an amendment which would throw all 
our education funds into a pot and distribute it in an arbitrary way to 
the States.
    Today I'm going to see firsthand just how high these stakes are. I'm 
visiting the San Carlos Charter Learning Center in California, one of 
many charter schools across our country and in the State of California 
that are bringing new life, new energy, and new creativity into public 
education. Charter schools are established by educators with less 
redtape but higher expectations. Students must choose to attend them, 
and they exist only as long as they're doing a good job.
    Our administration has been helping charter schools to get started 
all across our country, and our balanced budget contains funds to 
establish hundreds more of them all around America. This is an 
innovation we cannot afford to lose. Making sure every 8-year-old can 
read, every 12-year-old can log on to the Internet, every 18-year-old 
can go on to college, these are national goals, and we must support 
national efforts to meet them.
    In the 21st century, our children must have a world-class education. 
We must strengthen our schools, raise our standards, insist that our 
students master the basics, and demand excellence at every level. So if 
Congress sends me partisan legislation that denies our children high 
national standards or weakens our national commitment to stronger 
schools, I'll have to give it the failing grade it deserves, and I'll 
veto it.
    Bringing vital change and progress to our schools will take courage 
and the steadfast commitment of all. But throughout our history, we have 
always risen to the challenge of building better futures for our 
children. If we all work together, we are up to the task today as well.
    Thank you.

Note: The address was recorded at 3:16 p.m. on September 18 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September 20.