[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 16 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Pages 675-676]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

April 17, 1999

    Good morning. Of all the duties we owe to one another, our duty to 
our parents and grandparents is among the most sacred. Today I want to 
talk about what we must do to strengthen the safety net for America's 
seniors, by cracking down on elder crime, fraud, and abuse.
    For more than 6 years, we've worked hard to keep our families and 
our communities safe. And we've made remarkable progress, with violent 
crime dropping to its lowest levels in 25 years. For elderly Americans 
who once locked themselves into their homes in fear, the falling crime 
rate is a godsend.
    But the greatest threat many older Americans face is not a criminal 
armed with a gun but a telemarketer armed with a deceptive rap. And our 
most defenseless seniors, those who are sick or disabled and living in 
nursing homes, cannot lock the door against abuse and neglect by people 
paid to care for them. So America's seniors are especially vulnerable to 
fraud and abuse. Therefore, we must make special efforts to protect 
them.
    That is why the 21st century crime bill I'll send to Congress next 
month includes tough measures to target people who prey on elderly 
Americans. First, we must fight telemarketing fraud that robs people of 
their life savings and endangers their well-being. Every single year 
illegal telemarketing operations bilk the American people of an 
estimated $40 billion. More than half the victims are over 50. That's 
like a fraud tax aimed directly at senior citizens.
    Last year we toughened penalties for telemarketing fraud, but we 
should stop scam artists before they have a chance to harm America's 
seniors. My crime bill will give the Justice Department authority to 
terminate telephone service when agents find evidence of an illegal 
telemarketing operation or a plan to start one. This new law will send a 
message to telemarketers: If you prey on older Americans, we will cut 
off your phone lines and shut you down.
    Second, we must fight nursing home neglect and abuse. Nursing homes 
can be a safe haven for senior citizens and families in need. To make 
sure they are, we've issued the toughest nursing home rules in history 
and stepped up investigations at facilities suspected of neglect and 
abuse. But when one out of four nursing homes in America does not 
provide quality care to their residents, and when people living in 
substandard nursing homes have as much fear from abuse and neglect as 
they do from the diseases of old age, we must do more.
    My crime bill gives the Justice Department authority to investigate, 
prosecute, and punish nursing home operators who repeatedly neglect and 
abuse their residents. With prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines 
of up to $2 million, these new provisions make clear we will settle for 
nothing less than the highest quality care in America's nursing homes.
    Third, we must fight health care fraud. Every year health care fraud 
costs American taxpayers billions of dollars, draining resources from 
programs that benefit our seniors. As Vice President Gore announced last 
month, my crime bill will allow the Justice Department to take immediate 
action to stop false claims and illegal kickbacks and give

[[Page 676]]

Federal prosecutors new tools to tackle fraud cases.
    Finally, we must fight retirement plan ripoffs. My crime bill will 
toughen penalties for people who steal from pension and retirement 
funds. To borrow a line from Senator Leahy, who is working closely with 
us to strengthen the safety net for our seniors, the only people who 
should benefit from pensions are the people who worked for a lifetime to 
build them.
    I look forward to working with Congress in the coming days to give 
our senior citizens the security they deserve. That is an important part 
of our efforts to protect our parents and our grandparents, to advance 
our values, and build a stronger America for the 21st century.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 4:45 p.m. on April 16 in the Roseville 
Recreation Center in Roseville, MI, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 
17. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on April 16 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.