[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 50 (Monday, December 18, 2000)]
[Pages 3044-3045]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

December 9, 2000

    Good morning. Eight years ago this week, I brought together leading 
minds from all around our country for my first economic summit. The 
challenge then was immediate and clear: The deficit was $290 billion and 
rising; 10 million Americans were out of

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work; interest rates were high; and confidence was low.
    Al Gore and I were determined to change that by putting into action 
a new economic strategy, one of fiscal discipline, investment in our 
people, and expanded trade. Since then, we've turned record budget 
deficits into record surpluses and produced the longest economic 
expansion in American history, with more than 22 million new jobs, the 
lowest Hispanic and African-American unemployment ever, and the highest 
homeownership on record.
    Over the last 2 years, our economy has grown at an exceptional pace, 
often achieving growth rates as high as 5 percent. Obviously, economic 
growth at such a brisk level cannot be sustained forever, but the bulk 
of evidence suggests that our recordbreaking expansion is continuing. In 
fact, just this week we received a report showing continued growth in 
private sector jobs. We also learned that unemployment in November was 
4.0 percent, among the lowest rates in 30 years.
    I'm also pleased to report that the overwhelming majority of private 
sector experts are predicting solid but measured growth in the coming 
year, with low unemployment, low inflation, and strong productivity. 
This is good news for the American economy and for the American people, 
and this is no time to abandon the path of fiscal discipline that helped 
get us here.
    Our economic success was not a matter of chance; it was a matter of 
choice--a commitment to commonsense American values, to responsibility 
and fairness, to putting people first, to not spending what we don't 
have. We must not take our economic strengths for granted. That's why it 
is critical that we continue to pay down the debt, to keep inflation and 
interest rates low. That's why we should keep expanding trade, opening 
markets abroad, and keep investing in our people--that's the most 
important thing--closing the skills gap with more training and better 
education.
    Education is an important part of any strategy for economic growth. 
And in this information age, it is essential. If we want our children to 
be able to compete in the high-tech, high-wage job market of the 21st 
century, we must ensure that all of them have the skills they need to 
succeed.
    With this in mind, I have met twice this week with congressional 
leaders of both parties to make sure we pass an education budget that 
prepares our children for the future. When Congress left town last 
month, we already had reached an historic bipartisan agreement on 
education. It would provide much-needed funding to reduce class size, 
repair crumbling schools, improve teacher quality. It would also expand 
Head Start, after-school programs, Pell grants, and support students 
with disabilities.
    We know these are the basic building blocks of a 21st century work 
force. I hope Congress will keep its commitment to America's children 
and pass a balanced budget that makes education the number one priority.
    Once President Lyndon Johnson said, ``We must raise our sights to 
develop more completely our people's talents and to employ these talents 
fully.'' If we want to invest in the prosperity of our Nation, we must 
invest in the education of our children so that their talents may be 
fully employed. Working together, we can complete this year's unfinished 
business, keep paying down the debt, keep the prosperity going, and by 
investing in our children's education, prepare our Nation to meet the 
challenges of the years to come.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:10 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.