[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 52 (Monday, December 28, 1998)]
[Pages 2522-2526]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Housing and Urban Development Grant Announcement in 
Baltimore, Maryland

December 23, 1998

    Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, if Christa Spangler hasn't put 
us in the spirit of the season, I don't know who could. Didn't she do a 
magnificent job? Thank you very much. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you, 
Secretary Cuomo, for your remarks and your remarkable work.
    I want to say at this holiday season, the beginning of the Muslim 
holy month of Ramadan, the season of Hanukkah for Jewish Americans, and 
Christmas for those of us who are Christians, when we are told we should 
count our blessings, one of the things that has been a great blessing 
for me in the last 6 years as President has been my proximity to and 
involvement with the city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland.
    I have, as you heard Mayor Schmoke say, starting in 1992, I have 
visited the churches here; I have walked the streets here; I have seen 
the children here in their schools and their environmental projects and 
in other ways. I have loved this State. I have been to Annapolis and to 
Clinton, Maryland--[laughter]--and to Montgomery County--and Wayne--and 
to, obviously, so many times to Camp David and the environs there. And I 
feel very blessed.
    But I was looking at your elected Representatives--Elijah Cummings, 
who is very well named; he sounds like a prophet about half the time. 
And I was thinking that there is no State in the country that has a pair 
of Senators with quite the combination of intelligence, compassion, and 
energy, and plain old pull that Maryland does. And I am so grateful for 
the work that Governor Glendening and Lieutenant Governor Kathleen 
Kennedy Townsend have done.
    As all of you know, I've had also a special friendship with Mayor 
Schmoke, and I sort

[[Page 2523]]

of regret the fact that both of us will be retiring before you know it. 
[Laughter] But he did a remarkable job. He has done and he has some more 
remarkable things to do for this city, and I thank him for that.
    I'd also like to thank the other State legislators, county 
officials, city council members who are here. I'd like to thank the 
AmeriCorps members who are here for the wonderful work they do and the 
residents of Pleasant View Gardens.
    You know, there's been a lot of talk today about this project as an 
embodiment of the community America can become. There's been a lot of 
talk today about the spirit of one America, as Secretary Cuomo said. But 
I think it's important, if you'll forgive me just one religious 
reference at Christmas time, that we remember what Christa Spangler 
said: Anybody can become homeless. What does that mean? That means: 
There, but for the grace of God, go I. And it means that in our minds, 
we should be going there.
    Most people, most Christians at the Christian season read the 
Christmas story in Matthew or Luke. But at the end--along toward the end 
of the Book of Matthew, there is a great sermon where Jesus says--and I 
won't go through the whole thing--but basically, ``even as you have done 
it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.''
    Now, what that really means is not what most people think. It 
doesn't really mean go out and give a bunch of money to poor people so 
you can feel righteous. That's not what it means. It means--what it 
really means is, whether you're tall or short, whether you're fat or 
thin, whether you're black, brown, or white, whether you look like a 
movie star or a person who had one boxing match too many--[laughter]--
whatever the different circumstances of your life are, inside each of us 
there is a core that is the same and not one person is better than 
another. That's what it really means. That's what it really means.
    So when I talk about one America, I don't mean that it makes me feel 
good to help people who are the least of these. What the real biblical 
message is, is that there is no ``least of these.'' It is not an 
accident that the birth occurred in a manger. And it wasn't because I 
wanted to go out and get more votes because there's more poor people 
than rich people. Right?
    So I just think it's important we think about that in this season, 
because every meaningful religion is trying to tell us the same thing. 
We organize our lives and our minds in categories; we have to do that. 
We want our kids to make good grades in school, not bad grades in 
school, so we tell them it's better to make good grades. We'd like to 
have a better job that pays more money so we can take better care of our 
families. We say, you know, it's better. It helped me to get reelected 
that we had a good economy instead of a bad economy. We all know that.
    So we make judgments all the time, and we have to organize our lives 
so we are always putting people and conduct and things into categories, 
and that's good. It has to be done. But in order to have any meaning at 
all, underneath it all we have to know the real secret of life is that 
we have something that is no better than but, thank God, no worse than 
what anyone else has. And that is the gift we get from God; whatever our 
religious teaching and conviction and background, that is the gift we 
receive.
    And our political conduct should at least--we can differ on a lot of 
things--about what's the best way to do this, the best way to do that or 
the other thing. But if we ever forget that what we have in common is 
far more fundamental than all these things that we differentiate among 
ourselves, we have forgotten the most important thing.
    The reason the American idea has worked for over 220 years is it 
rests on the premise that what we have in common is the most fundamental 
thing. And it recognized in the beginning--Thomas Jefferson--``I tremble 
when I think of slavery to believe that God is just''--they knew that 
they were nowhere near living up to their ideals. And we accept today we 
are nowhere living up to our ideals. But we recognize that we have to 
move closer. That's really what we all came here to talk about here 
today. That's what we're all here to talk about today.
    So we want America not only to be a rich country but one where 
everybody has a place at the table. That's what we come to celebrate.

[[Page 2524]]

    I want to thank all of you and the American people for the work we 
have done in these last several years to make more room at the table for 
more people, to give people a chance to live as if they were what they 
in fact are: equal before the law and in the eyes of God.
    Now, we have a lot to celebrate--some of it's been mentioned: 17 
million new jobs; the fastest wage growth in two decades; the lowest 
unemployment rate in 28 years; the smallest percentage of Americans on 
welfare in 29 years; the lowest African-American poverty rate ever 
recorded; the highest homeownership in history; crime, divorce, teen 
pregnancy, drug abuse rates falling. But I say until we know that 
everybody has a chance to be a part of this, we have more to do. And I 
believe when times are good, we have a heavier responsibility to look at 
the long run, to meet the long-term challenges of the country, and to 
give everybody a chance to be a part of what it is we celebrate.
    At the dawn of the 21st century we have some big challenges. Not all 
our children have world-class educations, but all our children need 
them. You heard Elijah talking about the health care challenges. More 
and more people are having trouble finding health insurance. More and 
more people with health insurance are in managed care plans where they 
need a Patients' Bill of Rights. We have a huge looming challenge when 
all of us baby boomers retire and there will only be two people working 
for every one person drawing Social Security or on Medicare. And the 
young people of this country deserve--deserve--the right to live their 
lives, raise their children without their parents and grandparents 
bankrupting them. And so we have to save Social Security and Medicare 
for the 21st century without imposing on our children an unfair burden.
    There's a lot of trouble in the world economy today, and we can't 
continue to grow unless we help our neighbors to get over that trouble 
and to stabilize the system. And again I say, underneath all that is our 
philosophy--do we really believe that our ability to do well is 
connected to our neighbors' ability, and not only our neighbors down the 
street and across the town and across America but all of our neighbors 
on this increasingly small planet of ours? I think you believe that. 
That's one reason I enjoy coming here and being with you.
    Now, I have watched--I came here to Baltimore the first time before 
some of you were born. I was an 18-year-old college student, and my best 
friend, later my college roommate, was from Baltimore. So I have seen 
this place change breathtakingly since I first came here in 1964. I see 
it in Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor, but I also see it in the 
communities throughout this city. And the changes you see here are just 
as profound as you see in your beautiful ballpark or your beautiful 
harbor, and may have a longer lasting positive impact on the march of 
life in this city. You see it in west Baltimore, east Baltimore, 
Sandtown-Winchester, and of course, here in Pleasant View.
    This is the model--the reason I came here today, among other things, 
besides the fact that I like to come here and be with all of you--is 
that I want people to understand what you have done. And I want people 
to understand that if you can do this here, this can be done anywhere in 
America. And I want people to understand that the National Government is 
committed to being a partner, but all we can be is a partner. What makes 
the celebration of today possible is what you have done. You needed our 
help. That's what Senator Mikulski said. And you need more. That's why 
Senator Sarbanes talked about the budget. [Laughter] But it's very 
important to understand that all I have done here, all Secretary Cuomo 
has done here, is to give you the tools to build a genuine community out 
of chaos and to give everybody a seat at the table.
    And so I want to say again, we are committed to that. We want more 
empowerment zones like yours. We want more community development banks. 
We want more comprehensive housing reform like we see here. What did you 
do with your empowerment zone? Would you like to know? Baltimore's 
empowerment zone has produced more than 2,800 new jobs; crime down 20 
percent; $50 million in new private sector funding. It worked. So we're 
going to have, in the coming weeks, thanks to last year's budget, 20 new 
empowerment zones. Others can do it

[[Page 2525]]

because you did it, and we want them to do it.
    We have the best job market in a generation. But to really move 
people from welfare to work, we need more transportation, more child 
care, more housing vouchers to move people closer to the available jobs, 
and new commitments from civic, religious, business, and nonprofit 
groups. We will do that. We must build on the success of community 
policing, which prevents crime in the first place.
    Already, we have helped to fund more than 92,000 of the 100,000 
police officers promised by the crime bill of 1994. And here in 
Baltimore we're providing funding for another 100 officers--on top of 
the 450 you've already hired--specifically targeted to higher crime 
neighborhoods. If we want to build communities, our children have to 
feel safe on their streets.
    One of the biggest things I am convinced we have to do is to do more 
to tap the potential of all our young people. We need more safe and more 
modern schools. We need desperately quality after-school programs for 
all the children, who otherwise will be on the street, not learning and 
getting in trouble. We need to give young people an opportunity to give 
something back to their community and to go on with their education.
    I am very proud that Baltimore has one of the largest national 
service programs, AmeriCorps programs, in the entire United States here. 
There are more than 300 young AmeriCorps members building new homes, 
removing lead paint, restoring parks. Nearly 500 more will join you in 
the coming year. So I want to thank the young AmeriCorps members who are 
here today for their service. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. 
[Applause] Thank you.
    And we can do more to break the cycle of homelessness. We are 
serving many, many thousands--tens of thousands of more people than we 
were when I became President. I remember, when I first took office, and 
I used to run out of the White House in the morning on my morning jog, 
and I would go down 16th Street and 15th Street. And there were homeless 
people everywhere, and they would stop and talk to me. It was a great 
thing; the President could have a daily conversation with a homeless 
person. That was good for me but lousy for them because they were all 
spending the night on the street over the grates, waiting for the heat--
even built fancy little tents so that the heat would blow up and keep 
their roof over their heads.
    And there are fewer of them now. But we have a lot to do. The 
Continuum of Care strategy that Secretary Cuomo developed acknowledged 
that people who are homeless need more than a shelter. They are homeless 
for a reason. You heard that from Christa.
    Today I am pleased to announce that we are awarding $850 million to 
communities in all 50 States to give homeless families a chance to 
rebuild their lives. Maryland will receive more than $17 million; 
grassroots organizations here in Baltimore more than $8 million. These 
grants will help you to reach out in innovative ways to homeless adults 
and children, to veterans and the disabled, to people with mental 
illness and with AIDS. They will help with emergency shelters and 
permanent housing, drug treatment and medication, job training and child 
care. They will help to give your fellow citizens a hand up. They will 
help you to give them the greatest benefit of all, the gift of self-
sufficiency and hope.
    Now, I am also pleased to announce that my next balanced budget will 
include a record $1.1 billion for homeless assistance. If enacted--if we 
can persuade the Congress to enact it, it will be the largest effort to 
combat homelessness in the history of America, and it will be done 
within the balanced budget.
    Baltimore has always been known as the City of Neighborhoods. I want 
America to be known as the Country of Neighborhoods. And I want us to 
look at all people as our neighbors.
    You know, not very long ago, Hillary and Chelsea and I took a brief 
trip to the Middle East to try to spur on the peace process there, to 
try to help the Palestinians and the Israelis become more reconciled to 
one another. And as a part of this trip we were able to go to Bethlehem, 
which, ironically, is now a predominantly Palestinian-Muslim city, where 
the Christians, in the birthplace of Christ, are in a minority but a 
respected minority. And we visited the Church of the Nativity, and we 
bent down and walked through

[[Page 2526]]

that doorway that was built about 1500 years ago in that old church. And 
we went down into the crypt, where I'm sure some of you have been, where 
they believe the manger was where Jesus was born. And we were left there 
for a time, the three of us, by ourselves--something that almost never 
happens to us--to reflect on the meaning of that.
    I say again, I came out of that, first of all, profoundly grateful 
for the opportunity to serve, for the many gifts in my life and my 
family's life but also determined again to remember what I think the 
fundamental lesson is--which is not that charity is the greatest virtue 
but that charity is an obligation because of our common humanity, 
because we are not better than those who, because of their 
circumstances, happen to need a hand up at any given moment in time.
    So, as much as any place in our country, the State of Maryland and 
the city of Baltimore embodies that. You should be very proud and very 
grateful for what you have done and what you are. And it should make you 
more determined for what you can become.
    I was sitting there looking at Christa Spangler, listening to her. 
She got a second chance--maybe a third or a fourth or a fifth chance. 
But here she is--sounding good, looking good, got a life, got a job, got 
a house, got a husband. Stand up; stand up here. [Applause] Thank you; 
thank you. This ought to be a country of neighbors, a country of equals, 
a country of people committed to a hand up.
    God bless you, and happy holidays. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:07 p.m. in the gym at the Boys and Girls 
Club. In his remarks, he referred to Christa Spangler, former recipient 
of homeless assistance services, who introduced the President; Prince 
Georges County Executive Wayne Curry; Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore; 
and Gov. Parris Glendening of Maryland.