[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 30 (Monday, August 1, 1994)]
[Pages 1560-1561]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
of Gallaudet University

July 27, 1994

    The President. Dr. Anderson? Good morning. I want to begin by 
congratulating you on your appointment as the Chair of the Gallaudet 
University Board of Trustees. I also want to thank you for your great 
career in rehabilitation work, and your earlier help to me when I served 
as Governor.
    I'm glad we can use this telephone network today because I know what 
an important link it is to millions of Americans.
    Go ahead.
    Dr. Anderson. Good morning, Mr. President. Thank you very much for 
your kind words. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to speak 
with you this morning. Thank you for agreeing to make this relay call. 
Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your appearance 
at the Gallaudet University commencement last May. You inspired deaf 
people all over the country by your appearance and your wonderful 
commencement address.
    Go ahead.
    The President. Well, the honor was mine. I was very inspired by the 
students and their dreams. I also want to say how very proud I am of the 
strong support we have been receiving from the deaf and disabled 
communities on health care reform.
    Go ahead.
    Dr. Anderson. Great. Yes, we very much care about improving health 
care services, and we are so glad that you have taken the lead in 
advocating for health care reform.
    Hopefully, you will also be able to remind health care providers of 
how important it is that they be sensitive to the needs of people with 
disabilities for health care services and for access to reasonable 
accommodations. I am very inspired by your hard work and will do all I 
can to support your efforts.
    The President. Well, of course, I will be sensitive to those things. 
And I think you well understand that the only way we can extend those 
benefits and opportunities to the disabled community is to cover all 
Americans. If we do that, we will be able to contain costs and empower 
disabled Americans to work and to live to the fullest of their 
abilities.
    Let me say, also, before we close this conversation, how pleased I 
am that the ADA is working and giving us things like this telephone 
relay system. It's a great tribute to the work that millions of disabled 
Americans have done.
    I want to make a special note of the work that your wife Karen has 
done and the help

[[Page 1561]]

she gave to our campaign in 1992 and our efforts to reach out for all 
Americans.
    Go ahead.
    Dr. Anderson. Great. My wife is here with me, and she's grinning 
from ear to ear. She enjoyed the opportunity to serve you and work in 
your campaign.
    I also want to say, yes, the ADA is working very well. And it will 
work even better in the years to come. Our conversation this morning is 
a living example of how well ADA is working.
    Go ahead.
    The President. I want to thank you again for all you have done to 
make the ADA work for people in their everyday lives.
    It's been a real pleasure to talk with you today. One of my aides 
told me that your son, Jamal, and I have a picture together that you 
would like me to autograph. I'd be glad to do that, and I look forward 
to seeing you again soon.
    Signing off.
    Dr. Anderson. Great. Many, many thanks for this opportunity. Thank 
you, again, and you have a great day, too.
    Bye bye.
    The President. Goodbye.

Note: The President spoke at 10:26 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House. The telephone conversation used a new relay service 
technology which allows the deaf to communicate by telephone.