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




[[Page i]]

PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES


                   PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
                                 OF THE
                              UNITED STATES

[[Page ii]

[[Photographic insert]]

photographic portfolio


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                     PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
                                 OF THE
                              UNITED STATES


                           William J. Clinton

[[GRAPHIC TIFF NOT AVAILABLE]]

                                   1997
                             (IN TWO BOOKS)

                   BOOK II--JULY 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1997


                _____________________________________________
                  United States Government Printing Office
                             Washington : 1999


[[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

    Nineteen hundred and ninety-seven was a year of great and growing 
confidence for our Nation. America moved forward, forging a new vision 
of how Government can best equip our people for a time of great change. 
After years of partisan division and decades of deficits, the two 
political parties worked together to enact a balanced budget that 
reflected our values and protected our priorities--the first balanced 
budget in a generation.

    This achievement meant much more than numbers on a ledger. Our 
balanced budget heralded a new era of fiscal discipline. It accelerated 
a virtuous cycle of rising economic growth and falling interest rates. 
It did nothing less than save Government from its own excesses, making 
it again a progressive force--one that lives within its means while 
making historic investments in our people. The budget contained the 
biggest increase in aid to higher education since the passage of the GI 
Bill 50 years ago and will open the doors of college to every person 
willing to work for it. The budget also made the largest single 
investment in health care since the creation of Medicaid in 1965 and 
will help provide health coverage for up to 5 million uninsured 
children.

    As I said in September at American University, after years in which 
the two parties seemed capable of little more than conflict, we finally 
found a way for Democrats and Republicans to work together for the 
national interest. America is working again; and now, at long last, 
Washington proved that it could, too.

    I also sought to find common ground and lead our Nation to higher 
ground on another challenge we face at the end of the 20th century, the 
dilemma of race. My Initiative on Race sought to promote a dialogue in 
every community about this issue and develop concrete solutions to 
enduring problems of prejudice and discrimination. For me, the most 
powerful reminder of the distance we can travel together as a Nation 
came on a sunny morning in Little Rock, Arkansas, when we celebrated the 
achievement of the Little Rock Nine. Four decades earlier, on September 
4, 1957, when they tried to enter the doors of Central High, the Little 
Rock Nine were turned away by jeers, threats, and the implacable 
resistance of institutional racism. But on this day, 40 years later, 
when those same individuals walked up the steps of that imposing brick 
building, a President of the United States was there to welcome them and 
hold the door open. We have many steps to climb as we approach the new 
century. But as the Little Rock Nine reminded us, our Nation moves 
forward and upward when we move together, as one America.


                                          


[[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 July 1-December 31, 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, Managing Editor, Office of the Federal 
Register. The series is produced by the Presidential and Legislative 
Publications 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, Maxine Hill, Michael Hoover, Alfred Jones, 
Jennifer S. Mangum, Michael J. Sullivan, and Karen A. Thornton.

    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


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                                Contents

     Foreword . . . v

     Preface . . . vii

     Cabinet . . . xi

     Public Papers of William J. Clinton,
     July 1--December 31, 1997 . . . 895

     Appendix A
     Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 1829

     Appendix B
     Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 1845

     Appendix C
     Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 1857

     Appendix D
     Presidential Documents Published in the Federal Register . . . 1869

     Subject Index . . . a1

     Name Index . . . b-1

     Document Categories List . . . c-1

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                               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...   Hershel Gober, Acting

   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

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   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 Centeral Intelligence  George J. Tenet

   Director of the Federal Emergency  James Lee Witt
   Management Agency

[[Page xiii]]

                  Administration of William J. Clinton

                                 1997