[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[November 30, 2000]
[Pages 2598-2599]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the G&P Foundation Angel Ball 2000 in New York City
November 30, 2000

    Well, first of all, thank you, Denise, for 
the saxophone. I'll have a little more time to play it in a week or two. 
[Laughter] And thank you for the wonderful gift. But let me say to all 
of you, I think that we should be here honoring Denise for remembering 
her daughter in such a magnificent way.
    And I also want to thank Philip for all 
that you have done to make this evening possible. And I want to thank 
the other honorees tonight, for the power of their examples. Michael 
Jackson, who has been so kind to us, thank 
you for the wonderful thing you said, and Sir Paul McCartney. I don't know, I got the saxophone at an event which 
honored two of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century. I 
don't know what that says. [Laughter]
    And I would like to thank Her Majesty Queen Noor, who has been a wonderful friend to Hillary and to me and 
I think is one of the truly great citizens of the world alive today. I 
thank her.
    And thank you, Larry King, for being here. I 
forgive you for using this occasion to hit me up for our exit interview. 
[Laughter] I am not a very good story. You should be down in Florida 
doing interviews tonight. [Laughter]
    Let me say to all of you, I want to just echo a thing or two Hillary 
said. I love this event. I had a wonderful time 2 years ago. I've had a 
terrific time tonight. But I look forward to the time when we will be 
forced to find another reason to meet, because the war on cancer will 
have been won. Like all of you, I am tired of burying my family members 
and friends from diseases that it seems that we ought to be able to find 
a way to cure or even to prevent. It won't be long now, and when that 
happy day comes, all of you can take pride in knowing that you did 
something to hasten the moment.

[[Page 2599]]

    I can tell you that we're already making impressive progress. 
Earlier this year we learned that for the very first time, cancer deaths 
in the United States are on the decline. Researchers are now unlocking 
the secrets of the human genome; revolutionary new treatments are sure 
to follow. There are now medicines being tested now, not only to cure 
but to actually prevent various kinds of cancers.
    Now, we actually know that the average human body is built to last 
more than 100 years. And the younger women in this audience who are 
still having children, in your childbearing years you will be having 
babies with a life expectancy of 90 years or more, because of the 
medical research that is now going on.
    But it's important for the rest of us to do our part. And our 
administration, with Hillary and the Vice President in the lead, has 
worked hard. We've doubled research over the last 8 years. We have 
speeded the approval process for cancer drugs. We've involved more and 
more Medicare patients in cancer screenings and test trials. And we've 
extended coverage to uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer. 
But there's a lot more to do.
    What I want you to understand is that all of us, and mostly you--I 
have been on the public payroll for some years--but those of us that are 
fortunate enough to have some income are always given all these 
opportunities to make charitable donations, and you always hope that the 
money you give will have some beneficial impact. But what I want you to 
understand is that the sequencing this year of the human genome is a 
truly seminal event in the entire history of science.
    We have already identified, scientists have, the problems in the 
gene structure that lead women to be much more vulnerable to breast 
cancer. And it is just the beginning. There has never been a better time 
to invest money in cancer research, ever. And it is highly likely, even 
though none of us can know when the next discoveries are coming or which 
scientists will make them, it is highly likely that the money you invest 
in this project will actually directly lead to the dramatic acceleration 
of cures for cancer, preventions for cancer, and the saving of other 
children's lives.
    And so again I say, thank you, Denise. Thank 
you for everything you have done to make it possible for Hillary and me 
to serve. Thank you to those of you who have been so good to my 
wife. And thank you, Senator 
Schumer, for showing up. They will be a 
great team, and I'm very, very grateful for that. And as I leave office, 
let me say to all of you--I thank Michael Jackson for what he said--this has been the greatest honor 
imaginable for me to serve.
    But the thing that really matters about this country is not who the 
President is; it's what kind of people we are. The thing about any free 
society is that it's the citizens who matter, the decisions they make, 
the work they do, the dreams they dream. There has never been a better 
time to dream of curing every kind of cancer or to give.
    So, even though I won't be President next year, I hope you'll be 
here, giving next year, because it will really make a difference.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 8:30 p.m. in the Broadway Ballroom at the 
New York Marriot Marquis Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Denise 
Rich, cofounder, G&P Foundation, and her son-in-law, Philip Aouad; 
musicians Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney; Queen Noor of Jordan; and 
CNN talk show host Larry King, who served as master of ceremonies.