[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[June 20, 2000]
[Pages 1190-1192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999
June 20, 2000

    Thank you very much. Well, this is a very happy day. Welcome. I'd 
like to thank Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton, Tom Davis, and Jim 
Moran for their role in this day; and 
Secretary Riley; OMB Director Lew, especially for his role as the Chair of the Federal 
DC Interagency Task Force. And I'd like to thank Grant 
Stockdale, who first proposed this idea 
several years ago.
    I am sorry that Mayor Williams 
couldn't be with us today, but the city is very well represented. And I 
want to welcome the university presidents from George Mason, Trinity, Bowie State, and Delaware State 
who are here today, as well as students they'll be welcoming because of 
the DC College Access Act. We also have some of the educators and 
parents who helped get these children to college and the leaders of the 
DC College Access program who are raising private funds to help local 
students meet all the costs of a university education.

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

    I want to talk in a moment about all that you have done together, 
but because this is my only opportunity to be with the press today, I 
want to say just a few words about another issue where your example of 
bipartisanship could stand us in good stead, and that is our stewardship 
of the Medicare program.
    This week the House is preparing to vote on a proposal for a 
prescription drug benefit for older Americans and people with 
disabilities. Unfortunately, in my opinion at least, the private 
insurance drug plan does not achieve that objective of giving 
affordable, dependable coverage to every senior who needs it. At the 
same time, we have to face the challenge of making sure we pay the 
Medicare providers enough so they can give our seniors the high quality 
care they deserve. Payments are too low in important areas, and Medicare 
patients are at risk. Some think we have to choose between the 
prescription drug benefit and adequate quality care. But because of our 
remarkable prosperity, I believe we can do both, especially given the 
present strength of the Medicare Trust Fund. And I think we should do it 
right.
    Today I am proposing to dedicate $40 billion over the next 10 years 
to ensure that our providers can continue to provide quality care. I 
think all of us recognize, and I do think this is a bipartisan 
recognition, that when we passed the Balanced Budget Act of '97, we did 
not provide adequate funding for the medical providers of the country. 
And this will help, by

[[Page 1191]]

increasing Medicare payments to hospitals, teaching facilities, nursing 
homes, and the home health care programs, so that Medicare patients can 
get what they need.
    My proposal also endorses Vice President Gore's initiatives to say for the very first time, the Medicare 
surplus will be off-budget, like the Social Security surplus, and 
therefore can no longer be diverted for other purposes. Under the Vice 
President's plan, Medicare must be saved for paying down the debt in 
order to strengthen the life of the Medicare program.
    Today the House is voting on a proposal that embraces this concept 
and takes an important step toward achieving the goal. And I'm very 
pleased, and again, I think it will have strong bipartisan support. I 
hope it will be strengthened in the Senate, so there will be absolutely 
no question that any loophole can allow the money to be spent in other 
ways.

District of Columbia College Access Act

    Now, just as we bear a heavy responsibility to our seniors, we also 
have perhaps an even heavier one to our young people, to do all we can 
to prepare them for the future. More and more, that requires that we 
offer every student the chance to go to college. In the coming years, 
the number of new jobs requiring a bachelor's degree will actually grow 
twice as fast as the jobs that require only a high school diploma. Over 
the course of a career, someone with a college degree today will earn, 
on average, $600,000 more than someone with a high school diploma.
    I have often said that I was the first person to go to college in my 
family, and I couldn't have done it without not only help from my family 
but without loans, scholarships, and jobs. Those things enabled me to 
have opportunities my parents' generation did not have, and without 
them, clearly, I wouldn't be standing here today making these remarks. 
So I think, like everyone in Congress who's been through the same 
experience, we want to make sure that the next generation has the same 
opportunity.
    For years, too many of this city--our Capital City's young people 
have been left behind, not because they didn't have the ability but 
because they didn't have the resources to go on to college. This fall 
things will be different. Thanks to a remarkable coalition of business 
leaders, city and Federal officials, Republicans and Democrats, working 
together, many of them here today, the children of Washington will have 
the chance to go to public colleges around the country at in-State rates 
or get some help to go to a private school close to home.
    The District of Columbia College Access Act makes the playing field 
a little more level for the children of Washington, DC. More students 
and parents will know that if they study hard and believe in themselves, 
the doors of college and the opportunity college brings will be open to 
them. And more middle income families will find that our great Nation's 
Capital is also a great place to live and raise their own children.
    This fall more than 1,000 young people, many of whom might never 
have had the chance, will get the help to go to college. We're paying 
the difference between in-State and out-of-State tuition, sometimes as 
high as $10,000 a year. And we're providing $2,500 for young people who 
have chosen to attend local private colleges.
    Washington businesses are helping many of these children pay for the 
costs of college--the other costs--and they've helped increase funding 
for the University of the District of Columbia, as well. This is a great 
example of what we can do if we put aside our differences to work toward 
a common goal. It is one of the best investments we could ever make.
    One of the things that I am proudest of in my service as President 
is that we've had the opportunity to have the biggest expansion in 
college aid since the GI bill 50 years ago: expanded Pell grants, which 
many young Washingtonians use, education IRA's, the $1,500 HOPE 
scholarship tax credit, and the lifetime learning tax credit for the 
third and fourth years of college and graduate school and adult 
education. And now I've asked Congress to pass a college opportunity tax 
cut that would allow every family to deduct up to $10,000 of college 
tuition from their income tax every year.
    We have the resources now. The question is whether we have the 
vision and will to give all our children a shot at living their dreams. 
This bill indicates that we do. And again, I want to thank these 
Representatives here who played a leading role and all of you who helped 
to pass this bill.
    I'd like to now ask Dr. Alan Merten, the 
president of George Mason University; Zack Gamble; Secretary Riley; and 
Representatives Norton, Davis, Moran; and Jack Lew to come forward. I want to tell you that Zack Gamble 
is a young man who did well in college and

[[Page 1192]]

was acceptable--accepted--acceptable and accepted--[laughter]--into 
several colleges. The DC College Access Act is making it possible for 
him to go to George Mason this fall to study computer science. We're 
going to present his tuition check now. It is just the first of many.
    Zack, congratulations. And to all the other 
young people here, congratulations to you. Good luck to you. God bless 
you. And now, in the immortal words of that great movie, we're going to 
show you the money. [Laughter]

 Note:  The President spoke at 2:23 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Anthony A. Williams of 
the District of Columbia; Evan S. Dobelle, president, Trinity College; 
Calvin W. Lowe, president, Bowie State University; and William B. 
DeLauder, president, Delaware State University.