[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 19 (Monday, May 11, 1998)]
[Pages 793-795]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Dedication of the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center

May 5, 1998

    Thank you very much. Mrs. Reagan, Mr. Barram, Secretary Daley, 
Senator Moynihan, Delegate Norton, Senator Dole, Senator Lott, all the 
Members of Congress and the Diplomatic Corps who are here; Mr. Mayor, 
Secretary Shultz and General Powell, and all the former members of the 
Reagan administration who are here and enjoying this great day; to 
Maureen and to the friends of President and Mrs. Reagan who are here; 
I'd like to begin by thanking Jim Freed and his team for a magnificent 
building. I think we all feel elevated in this building today.
    I also want to say on behalf of Hillary and myself a special word of 
appreciation to Mrs. Reagan for being here. From her own pioneering 
efforts to keep our children safe from drugs to the elegance and charm 
that were the hallmarks of the Reagan White House, through her public 
and brave support for every family facing Alzheimer's, she has served 
our Nation exceedingly well, and we thank her.
    The only thing that could make this day more special is if President 
Reagan could be here himself. But if you look at this atrium, I think we 
feel the essence of his presence: his unflagging optimism, his proud 
patriotism, his unabashed faith in the American people. I think every 
American who walks through this incredible space and lifts his or her 
eyes to the sky will feel that.
    As Senator Moynihan just described, this building is the completion 
of a challenge issued 37 years ago by President Kennedy; I ought to say, 
and doggedly pursued for 37 years by Senator Moynihan. [Laughter] I must 
say, Senator, there were days when I drove by here week after week after 
week and saw only that vast hole in the ground, when I wondered if the 
``Moynihan hole'' would ever become the Reagan Building. [Laughter] But 
sure enough, it did, and we thank you.
    As you have heard, this building will house everything from an 
international trade center to international cultural activities to the 
Agency for International Development to the Woodrow Wilson Center for 
Scholars. It is fitting that the plaza on which we gather bears the name 
of President Wilson. And it is fitting that Presidents Wilson and Reagan 
are paired, for their work and, therefore, the activities which will be 
culminated in this building span much of what has become the American 
century.
    Since President Reagan left office, the freedom and opportunity for 
which he stood have continued to spread. For a half century, American 
leaders of both parties waged a cold war against aggression and 
oppression. Today, freed from the yolk of totalitarianism, new 
democracies are emerging all around the world, enjoying newfound 
prosperity and long-awaited peace. More nations have claimed the fruits 
of this victory: free markets, free elections, plain freedom. And still 
more are struggling to do so.
    Today, we joy in that, but we cannot--indeed, we dare not--grow 
complacent. Today we recall President Reagan's resolve to fight for 
freedom and his understanding that American leadership in the world 
remains indispensable. It is fitting that a piece of the Berlin Wall is 
in this building. America's resolve and American ideals so clearly 
articulated by Ronald Reagan helped to bring that wall down.
    But as we have seen repeatedly in the years since, the end of the 
cold war did not bring the end of the struggle for freedom and 
democracy, for human rights and opportunity. If the history of this 
American century has taught us anything, it is that we will either work 
to shape events or we will be shaped by them. We cannot be partly in the 
world. We cannot lead in fits and starts or only when we believe it 
suits our short-term interests. We must lead boldly, consistently, 
without reservation, because, as President Reagan repeatedly said, 
freedom is always in America's interests.
    Our security and prosperity depend upon our willingness to be 
involved in the world. Woodrow Wilson said that Americans were 
participants in the life of the world, like it or not. But his 
countrymen did not listen to

[[Page 794]]

him, and as a result, there came the Great Depression, the rise of 
fascism, the Second World War. Our Nation then learned we could not 
withdraw from the world.
    Then a new generation of Americans reached outward in the years 
after World War II, building new alliances of peace and new engines of 
prosperity: NATO, the United Nations, the IMF, the international trading 
system. It is no accident that during this period of great American 
leadership abroad we experienced unparalleled economic prosperity here 
at home. And it is no accident that freedom's great triumph came on 
America's watch.
    Today, on the edge of a new century, the challenges we face are more 
diverse. But the values that guide America must remain the same. The 
globalization of commerce and the explosion of communications technology 
do not resolve all conflicts between nations. Indeed, they create new 
challenges. They do not diminish our responsibility to lead, therefore; 
instead, they heighten it. Because today's possibilities are not 
tomorrow's guarantees, we must remain true to the commitment to lead, 
that every American leader of both parties, especially Ronald Reagan and 
Woodrow Wilson, so clearly articulated in this 20th century.
    For 50 years we fought for a Europe undivided and free. Last week 
the United States Senate took a profoundly important step toward that 
goal by welcoming Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic into NATO, an 
achievement I believe that would make Ronald Reagan proud. The alliance 
that helped to keep the peace for a half century now brings us closer 
than ever to that dream of a Europe united, democratic, and at peace.
    Now Congress has other opportunities to fulfill the spirit and honor 
the legacy of the man whose name we affix to this building today. 
Congress has the opportunity to maintain our leadership by paying for 
our support to the IMF and settling our dues to the United Nations. I 
hope they will do it.
    President Reagan once said we had made what he called an unbreakable 
commitment to the IMF, one that was unbreakable because, in this age of 
economic interdependence, an investment in the IMF is simply an 
investment in American prosperity. And we fought for 50 years for peace 
and security as part of the United Nations.
    In 1985, Ronald Reagan said the U.N. stands as the symbol of the 
hopes of all mankind for a more peaceful and productive world. ``We must 
not,'' he said, ``disappoint those hopes.'' We still must not disappoint 
those hopes. President Reagan understood so clearly that America could 
not stand passively in the face of great change. He understood we had to 
embrace the obligations of leadership to build a better future for all. 
The commerce that will be conducted in this great building will be a 
testament to the opportunities in a truly global economy America has 
done so much to create.
    The academic and cultural activities that will be generated from 
people who work here will bring us closer together as well. Because the 
Agency for International Development will be here, we will never forget 
that the spark of enterprise and opportunity should be brought to the 
smallest, poorest villages in the world. For there, too, there are 
people of energy, intelligence, and hunger for freedom.
    This is a great day for our country. This is a day of honoring the 
legacy of President Reagan, remembering the service of President Wilson, 
and rededicating ourselves to the often difficult but, ultimately, 
always rewarding work of America.
    As I stand within the Reagan Building, I am confident that we will 
again make the right choices for America, that we will take up where 
President Reagan left off, to lead freedom's march boldly into the 21st 
century.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 1:36 p.m. in the atrium of the Ronald 
Reagan Building. In his remarks, he referred to former First Lady Nancy 
Reagan; General Services Administrator David J. Barram; former Senator 
Bob Dole; Mayor Marion S. Barry, Jr., of Washington, DC; former 
Secretary of State George P. Shultz; former Joint Chiefs of Staff 
Chairman Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), chairman, America's Promise--The 
Alliance For Youth; Maureen Reagan, daughter of former President Ronald 
Reagan; and architect James I. Freed.

[[Page 795]]