[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 21 (Monday, May 29, 1995)]
[Pages 871-872]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

May 20, 1995

    Good morning. Today the Secretary of the Treasury, who oversees the 
Secret Service, will announce that from now on the two blocks of 
Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House will be closed to motor 
vehicle traffic.
    Pennsylvania Avenue has been routinely open to traffic for the 
entire history of our Republic. Through four Presidential assassinations 
and eight unsuccessful attempts on the lives of Presidents, it's been 
open. Through a civil war, two world wars, and the Gulf war, it was 
open. But now it must be closed. This decision follows a lengthy review 
by the Treasury Department, the Secret Service, and independent experts, 
including distinguished Americans who served in past administrations of 
both Democratic and Republican Presidents.
    This step is necessary in the view of the Director of the Secret 
Service and the panel of experts to protect the President and his 
family, the White House itself, all the staff and others who work here, 
and the visitors and distinguished foreign and domestic guests who come 
here every day.
    The Secret Service risk their lives to protect the President and his 
family. For 130 years, they have stood watch over the people and the 
institutions of our democracy. They are the best in the world at what 
they do. Though I am reluctant to accept any decision that might 
inconvenience the people who work or visit our Nation's Capital, I 
believe it would be irresponsible to ignore their considered opinion or 
to obstruct their decisions about the safety of our public officials, 
especially given the strong supporting voice of the expert panel.
    Clearly, this closing is necessary because of the changing nature 
and scope of the threat of terrorist actions. It should be seen as a 
responsible security step necessary to preserve our freedom, not part of 
a long-term restriction of our freedom.
    First, let me make it clear that I will not in any way allow the 
fight against domestic and foreign terrorism to build a wall between me 
and the American people. I will be every bit as active and in touch with 
ordinary American citizens as I have been since I took office. 
Pennsylvania Avenue may be closed to cars and trucks, but it will remain 
open to the people of America. If you want to visit the White House, you 
can still do that just as you always could, and I hope you will. If you 
want to have your picture taken out in front of the White House, please 
do so. If you want to come here and protest our country's policies, you 
are still welcome to do that as well. And now you will be more secure in 
all these activities because it will be less likely that you could 
become an innocent victim of those who would do violence against symbols 
of our democracy.
    Closing Pennsylvania Avenue to motor vehicles is a practical step to 
protect against the kind of attack we saw in Oklahoma City, but I won't 
allow the people's access to the White House and their President to be 
curtailed. The two blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White 
House will be converted into a pedestrian mall. Free and public tours 
will continue as they always have. For most Americans, this won't change 
much beyond the traffic patterns here in Washington. For people who work 
in Washington, DC, we will work hard to reroute the traffic in 
cooperation with local officials in the least burdensome way possible.
    Now let's think for a minute about what this action says about the 
danger terrorism poses to the openness of our society or to any free 
society. The fact that the Secret Service feels compelled to close 
Pennsylvania Avenue is an important reminder that we have to come 
together as a people and hold

[[Page 872]]

fast against the divisive tactics of violent extremists.
    We saw in the awful tragedy of Oklahoma City and the bombing of the 
World Trade Center that America, as an open and free society, is not 
immune from terrorists from within and beyond our borders who believe 
they have a right to kill innocent civilians to pursue their own 
political ends or to protest other policies. Such people seek to instill 
fear in our citizens, in our whole people. But when we are all afraid to 
get on a bus or drive to work or open an envelope or send our children 
off to school, when our children are fixated on the possibility of 
terrorist action against them or other innocent children, we give 
terrorists a victory. That kind of corrosive fear could rust our 
national spirit, drain our will, and wear away our freedom.
    These are the true stakes in our war against terrorism. We cannot 
allow ourselves to be frightened or intimidated into a bunker mentality. 
We cannot allow our sacred freedoms to wither or diminish. We cannot 
allow the paranoia and conspiracy theories of extreme militants to 
dominate our society.
    What we do today is a practical step to preserve freedom and peace 
of mind. It should be seen as a step in a long line of efforts to 
improve security in the modern world that began with the installation of 
airport metal detectors. I remember when that started, and a lot of 
people thought that it might be seen as a restriction on our freedom. 
But most of us take it for granted now, and, after all, hijackings have 
gone way down. The airport metal detectors increased the freedom of the 
American people, and so can this.
    But more must be done to reduce the threat of terrorism, to deter 
terrorism. First, Congress must pass my antiterrorism legislation. We 
mustn't let our country fight the war against terrorism ill-armed or 
ill-prepared. I want us to be armed with 1,000 more FBI agents. I want 
the ability to monitor high-tech communications among far-flung 
terrorists. I want to be able to have our people learn their plans 
before they strike. That's the key. Congress can give us these tools by 
passing the antiterrorism bill before them. And they should do it now. 
Congressional leaders pledged to pass this bill by Memorial Day, in the 
wake of the terrible bombing in Oklahoma City. This is a commitment 
Congress must keep.
    On a deeper level, we must all fight terrorism by fighting the fear 
that terrorists sow. Today the Secret Service is taking a necessary 
precaution, but let no one mistake: We will not relinquish our 
fundamental freedoms. We will secure the personal safety of all 
Americans to live and move about as they please, to think and to speak 
as they please, to follow their beliefs and their conscience, as our 
Founding Fathers intended.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9:28 a.m. in the Oval Office at the 
White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m.