[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book II)]
[October 9, 1998]
[Pages 1771-1772]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1771]]


Remarks Honoring the National Association of Police Organizations'
Top Cops
October 9, 1998

    Tom, I accept the deal. [Laughter] Thank you for your work, on 
behalf of the law enforcement officers of our country. I want to thank 
Bob Scully as well, the executive director of NAPO. Thank you, Madam 
Attorney General, for all the support you have given to local law 
enforcement for 6 years now. I want to thank the Top Cops, their 
families, and their friends who are here. And I'd like to thank the 
Members of Congress who are here, supporters of law enforcement all: 
Senator Robb, Congresswoman Harman, Congresswoman McCarthy, Congressman 
Rogan, and Congressman Torres, who's here with some of his family. We're 
delighted to see all of you.
    I'd like to say a special word of appreciation to those of you who 
brought your families and the children here as a clear reminder to us of 
what we've really come to honor today.
    This July, just a mile from here in the Capitol Rotunda, I had the 
sad responsibility as President to honor the courage and the sacrifice 
of the two officers, J.J. Chestnut and Detective John Gibson, who were 
killed because they literally threw themselves between an assassin's 
bullets and innocent bystanders. They gave their lives to defend our 
freedom's house.
    The men and women we honor here today put on their badges every day, 
prepared to make the same kind of sacrifice in their own communities. 
They are true American heroes. They have done astonishing acts of 
humanity and heroism, from crossing the line of fire to rescue wounded 
fellow officers to confronting criminals armed with assault weapons and 
body armor, to nursing a seriously injured neighbor back to health, to 
breaking in on a person with a bomb that was partially activated and--
thank God--did not go up and blow them all away. And one of these 
officers, shot four times himself, including twice--once in the neck and 
once in the head, maintained his consciousness enough to save the life 
of a cab driver when the person who shot him had a gun at his head.
    These stories of all these people are literally breathtaking. I hope 
that the members of the media who are here today who are covering this 
will find the time to read the specific cases of those whom we honor 
today and tell their stories across America. The story of the brave 
officer from New Hampshire who dealt with that terrible tragedy and the 
story of the officers from north Hollywood, because of the volume of 
fire that was involved in their incident, have been told beyond the 
borders of their States. But all these stories deserve to be told, and I 
hope they will be, because we honor here today, as I say again, both the 
heroism and the humanity that reflect the best of good, professional law 
enforcement.
    We owe a great debt of gratitude to our Nation's police officers. 
And for 6 years we have worked, as Tom said and as the Attorney General 
noted, to give our law enforcement officers the tools they need to 
succeed at their jobs. We have worked to take back our streets from 
crime and violence with a comprehensive plan based on what law 
enforcement said we should be doing: new penalties on our books that 
were tough when they should be tough; efforts to help keep young people 
out of trouble in the first place; efforts to keep guns out of the hands 
of criminals; and most of all, efforts to put 100,000 more police on our 
streets.
    Six years ago there were many Americans who believed that a rising 
crime rate was a problem that would be with us always. Today, because of 
efforts like those whom we honor, we have the lowest level of crime in 
25 years. Respect for the law is on the rise. Our Nation's law 
enforcement officers are at the very center of this effort. They are 
cracking down on gun traffickers. They are working to keep guns out of 
the hands of criminals. They are working with local school authorities 
to keep our schools safe and drug-free. They are walking the beat and 
working with residents to prevent crime and to keep kids out of trouble 
in the first place.
    But as all of them know, and as all of you know, this is not a 
problem we can afford to just congratulate ourselves on. Our country is 
still too violent. We still lose too many children. We still lose too 
many police officers. We have to take some more steps. And today I'd 
like to just mention a couple.

[[Page 1772]]

    First, as Tom said so eloquently, all the cynics and the critics 
were wrong. These police are making a difference in our communities. We 
are well on our way; we're under a budget and ahead of schedule in our 
efforts to put 100,000 police on the street. Today we are awarding $30 
million in new grant money to help communities hire more police. This 
will bring the total of police officers funded by the crime bill in 1994 
and subsequent appropriations to more than 88,000. We are literally 
almost 90 percent of the way toward meeting our goal.
    Second, we know what a difference the Brady background checks have 
made to keep illegal guns off our streets. I am pleased to say that we 
will give States $40 million to help them computerize the criminal 
history records they use to do those background checks, a simple 
procedure that has already stopped a quarter of a million fugitives and 
felons from purchasing guns, and saves who knows how many lives. These 
steps will help us to give law enforcement the tools they need.
    Last night Congress passed a bill by a large bipartisan margin that 
will build on our progress, a bill I'll sign into law later today. It 
will provide States with more than a billion dollars over the next 5 
years to modernize not only their criminal records systems but also to 
upgrade their communications and criminal identification systems. It 
will include legislation I proposed last year at the White House 
Conference on Child Care the First Lady and I sponsored, to help us 
build a new electronic information sharing partnership with State and 
local law enforcement to keep our child care and our elder care systems 
safe. I am pleased that Congress has taken this step to give law 
enforcement more tools to make a greater difference.
    At the same time, I have to tell you there is one thing going on in 
Congress that I am very, very concerned about, an effort to undermine 
the very Brady law protections that have helped to make our streets and 
our police safer. The legislation would deny the FBI the full funds it 
needs to do the most effective background checks possible and would also 
impose undue administrative burdens on the FBI, threatening to bring 
this vitally important system to a halt. When we stood with America's 
police officers to pass the Brady law, it was a dramatic step forward. 
We cannot take an unacceptable step backward.
    This law is working. And all the fears that were raised about it by 
people who said good sportsmen would lose their guns and people would be 
subject to unconscionable hassles, it all turned out to be a bunch of 
bull. All it has done is save lives. Why are we trying to mess with 
something that works, that saves lives, that makes law enforcement 
safer, that makes people safer? It is a terrible mistake. And I ask you 
all to help me stop it.
    Now, this amendment was first proposed last summer, and I said then 
I would oppose it. So I will say again: I intend to oppose any effort to 
weaken the Brady law and to put guns back into the hands of felons and 
fugitives. We're going in the right direction. Let's don't make that 
mistake again.
    Think of the stories here today. Every one of you out here 
represents or came with somebody who is up here today. Now, you just 
think about how many stories there would be like the ones we're 
celebrating today--and we're sitting here thanking the good Lord that at 
least these people are alive--you think how many more stories there 
would be, not only to honor but to mourn, if we were to turn our back on 
what we've been doing for the last 6 years.
    So I say again, the Congress has made a lot of progress. It has 
increasingly been bipartisan on this law enforcement issue. Let's not 
take a step backward.
    Now, before I close, let me once again thank the Top Cops for their 
remarkable achievements. And again let me say, I want to thank all of 
you who are members of their families. In so many ways, you make these 
achievements possible. You share the sacrifice, and you share the fear, 
and sometimes you have to share the loss. We know that. Therefore, you 
have to provide your own special brand of courage, and for that we are 
also profoundly grateful.
    We honor all of you, your strength and your spirit, and from the 
bottom of our hearts, we thank you for what you have done to make 
America a better place.
    Thank you very much, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:57 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Thomas J. Scotto, president, and 
Robert T. Scully, executive director, National Association of Police 
Organizations.