[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[January 1, 1999]
[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




                                  1999

                              (IN TWO BOOKS)

                  BOOK I--JANUARY 1 to JUNE 30, 1999


                 ----------------------------------------
                 United States Government Printing Office
                             Washington : 2000


                                     

[[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

    As 1999 opened, and we marked the last year of the 20th century, 
Americans took stock of our blessings. And they were many. We had the 
longest peacetime expansion in our Nation's history, nearly 18 million 
new jobs, low inflation, peace at home, and strength abroad.

    We looked ahead to the next century and sought to meet its new 
challenges. We announced grants that will bring 30,000 new teachers into 
our Nation's classrooms to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. We proposed 
the Medicare Modernization plan to secure Medicare for the next two 
decades and offer our citizens affordable prescription drug coverage. 
And I asked the Congress to commit 60 percent of our budget surplus to 
Social Security for the next 15 years to put it on a sound footing for 
our generation and for those who follow us.

    Overseas, America stood firm with those who stand for peace--and 
against the forces of aggression and hatred. Our NATO Alliance 
celebrated its 50th anniversary, admitting three new members--the Czech 
Republic, Hungary, and Poland. With our NATO allies, we defeated ethnic 
cleansing in Kosovo and kept the peace in that troubled corner of 
Europe. Together, we put the integration of the Balkans into Europe high 
on the international agenda. And our relationship with Russia stood up 
to challenges as Russia helped make and keep the peace in Kosovo.

    We helped Israelis and Palestinians reach new accords at the Wye 
River Plantation, in Maryland, revitalizing the Middle East peace 
process. Northern Ireland installed its first institutions of self-
government, the result of free and open elections and power-sharing 
agreements.

    Here at home, we celebrated one of the most important achievements 
of our century, and looked back on our progress, when we honored Rosa 
Parks with a Congressional Gold Medal for her courageous leadership in 
the civil rights movement. Looking ahead to the future, I created the 
President's Initiative for One America to promote racial reconciliation 
in the century ahead.

    We were also faced, again and again, with the tragedies and 
difficulties of our modern age. As a Nation, we struggled to make sense 
of the horrific shootings at Columbine High School; and we pressed to 
pass commonsense gun safety legislation to make such tragedies less 
likely.

    In my State of the Union address, the last of the 20th century, I 
reminded Americans that, 100 years from now, America will end a 21st 
century shaped in so many ways by the decisions we make here and now. 
``Let it be said of us then,'' I said, ``that we were thinking not only 
of our time, but of their time; that we reached as high as our ideals; 
that we put aside our divisions and found a new hour of healing and 
hopefulness; that we joined together to serve the land we love.''

                          

[[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, 1999. 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 Brad Brooks, Anna Glover, Margaret 
A. Hemmig, Maxine Hill, Alfred Jones, Jennifer S. Mangum, Melanie L. 
Marcec, Lisa N. Morris, 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


[[Page ix]]




                                Contents

Foreword . . . v

Preface . . . vii

Cabinet . . . xi

Public Papers of William J. Clinton,
January 1-June 30, 1999 . . . 1

Appendix A
Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 1053

Appendix B
Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 1069

Appendix C
Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 1081

Appendix D
Presidential Documents Published in the Federal 
Register . . . 1093

Subject Index . . . a-1

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 
Development ........................  Andrew M. Cuomo

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

Secretary of Energy ................  Bill Richardson

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

Secretary of Veterans Affairs ......  Togo D. West, Jr.

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

United States Trade Representative    Charlene Barshefsky

Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget ..............  Jacob J. Lew

Chief of Staff .....................  John D. Podesta

Chair of the Council of Economic 
Advisers ...........................  Janet Yellen

[[Page xii]]

Director of National Drug Control 
Policy .............................  Barry R. McCaffrey

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

Director of Central Intelligence ...  George J. Tenet

Director of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency ..................  James Lee Witt


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                  Administration of William J. Clinton

                                  1999