[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[February 21, 1999]
[Page 231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the National Governors' Association Dinner
February 21, 1999

    Good evening. Governor and Mrs. 
Carper, Governor and Mrs. Leavitt, ladies and 
gentlemen, welcome back to the White House.
    Two of my proudest possessions, which I have over off the Oval 
Office, are an original printing of the proceeds of the first Governors' 
conference, held at the invitation of President Theodore Roosevelt--
formerly Governor of New York--in 1908, and the subject was the 
conservation of America's natural resources. The second is a picture 
taken on the front steps of the White House of the President and all the 
Governors in that year, with a letter signed with the picture by every 
serving Governor in 1992--some of you signed it--to me on the occasion 
of my election as President.
    I see the picture every day. I see the book every day, and it 
reminds me of how much I enjoyed being a Governor and how much I very 
much enjoyed these Governors' meetings.
    Six years ago, when I took office, I pledged a new era of 
partnership with the Governors. I have done my best to deliver on that 
pledge. I found that, when being a Governor, that it was easy to do the 
job when the economy was working than when it wasn't. [Laughter] So I 
hope you have found the same. I pledged to work on eliminating the 
deficit, and now we are into our second year of surpluses. I pledged to 
work with you on welfare reform, and I know all of you are very proud 
that the welfare rolls are about half the size they were in 1993. I 
pledged to work with you and your communities on crime, and the crime 
rate is at its lowest level in 25 years. I pledged to work on a cleaner 
environment in a way that would permit the economy to continue to grow, 
and together we have made progress on that and many other areas.
    I also pledged to continue the practice I adopted as Governor of 
stealing the best ideas from other States I could possibly find. 
[Laughter] Among other things, we have adopted Georgia's HOPE 
scholarship and many other ideas that many of you brought into being.
    For all these things, I thank you. I thank you for the work you 
continue to do. I thank you for the model you continue to set. In 6 
years, I have concluded what I suspected when I came here, which is that 
Washington works best when it works as Governors and as the National 
Governors' Association work: across party lines; focusing on ideas, not 
ideology; on people, not politics; on unity, not division. For all that 
you do to build that kind of America in the 21st century, I thank you.
    I look forward to our meeting tomorrow, and I ask you to join me in 
a toast to Governor and Mrs. 
Carper, Governor and Mrs. Leavitt, the 
Governors, their spouses, and our beloved country.

Note: The President spoke at 8:35 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to National Governors' 
Association Chairman Gov. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware and his wife, 
Martha; and NGA Vice Chairman Gov. Michael O. Leavitt of Utah and his 
wife, Jacalyn.