[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 14 (Monday, April 9, 2001)]
[Pages 581-583]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Horatio Alger Awards

April 6, 2001

    Thank you very much. Welcome to the White House.
    Wayne, thank you very much for your kind remarks. It is a real honor 
for me to be here

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to congratulate the 105 national scholars, to thank the universities who 
are going to match the scholarship money that you all have raised, and 
to thank the award recipients and congratulate you for the example 
you've set for America.

Senate Action on Federal Budget Legislation

    Before I begin, I want to say I've got a little news I'd like to 
report. I'm really pleased to report that the United States Senate just 
moments ago passed a budget that funds our Nation's priorities and 
allows for over $1.2 trillion of meaningful, real tax relief for the 
American people.
    The House has already passed $1.6 trillion of tax relief. Now the 
House and Senate will work to find common ground between these two 
budget plans, and the result will be the largest tax relief in decades. 
The fact that both Houses of Congress have committed to provide 
significant relief is good for the American people, and it's good for 
our economy.
    When the House and Senate complete their work, they will have paved 
the way so the American people can receive an across-the-board income 
tax reduction, a doubling of the child credit, relief from the marriage 
penalty, and the elimination of the death tax. This budget also wisely 
increases spending on education, funds priorities like Medicare and 
Social Security, and pays down a record amount of debt. I applaud 
today's action and congratulate the Republicans and Democrats who helped 
make it happen.

Horatio Alger Awards

    And I'd like to congratulate this year's recipients. All of you have 
amazing stories of adversities overcome and great goals attained: The 
son of a Polish immigrant who started out in his father's burlap bag 
business and is now the chairman and CEO of two major corporations; a 
man who, in his youth, helped support his family, right here in the 
Washington area, and then went on to become the founder of America 
Online; a young woman who mortgaged the family house for money to start 
her business and now runs a major construction company; a managing 
partner of a baseball team--and I know how much he suffers--[laughter]--
two well-respected leaders from my home State of Texas; a successful son 
of a preacher, now chairman and CEO of Lanier Worldwide, Inc--one of you 
began work at age 8 to help your mother sustain the family because of 
illness of your father; and he is here proudly as the chairman and CEO 
of Fannie Mae--and finally, the CEO and president of Burger King, who 
experienced tough times but overcame them with dignity.
    I am privileged to be here with you all. And one is not able to be 
here, a man I'm proud to call an ally, a fellow who, before I came, I 
can tell you, he voted right--[laughter]--and that's Senator Chuck 
Hagel. This is an award that all of you deserve, and we're sure honored 
to have you here in the White House.
    It's also good to see Mrs. Ruth Peale here with us. Doctor and Mrs. 
Peale, I think you've been here several times before, and it is my honor 
to welcome you again.
    It's fitting that all of you should gather in the people's house. 
This is the right place to honor the recipients of this award and 
perhaps a future president.
    There are quite a few Horatio Alger stories among the folks who have 
lived here: A small Missouri farmer who never graduated from college and 
spent his best years working on the farm, who would eventually lead 
America as it became a world power, Harry S 
Truman; or a poor boy from Iowa, orphaned at age 9, who as a man would 
save millions in Europe from starvation after two World Wars, President 
Herbert Hoover; a child of the frontier who would become a land 
surveyor, a store clerk, a lawyer, a legislator, and one day helped to 
free slaves and save the Union, Abraham Lincoln.
    The Horatio Alger Association is dedicated to really one of the 
basic truths about this country, and I hope this home remains dedicated 
to the same truth. In America, we believe in the possibilities of every 
person. It doesn't matter how you start out in life; what really matters 
is how you live your life. That has always been our creed. It has always 
given hope to those who dream of a better life. And that hope has always 
been the source of our Nation's greatness.

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    At the Horatio Alger Association, you also understand how much the 
dream depends on education. And for that, all of us should be grateful. 
You promote literacy and early reading. You provide millions of dollars 
in scholarships based upon need and talent. You understand that the hope 
for a better life often begins in the classroom.
    A good education can be the first real break a person gets in life. 
A young person might have big dreams for the future, but if he or she 
can't read, then the highest of hopes probably won't carry them very 
far.
    We have a duty to every child in America to give them the best 
possible start in life, to make every school a place of learning and of 
discipline and of character. We take this responsibility seriously in 
our country, as we should.
    But lately, we've been falling well short of our professed goals. 
Just today we learned the latest results from the National Assessment of 
Education Progress, known as the NAEP, which measures reading skills 
amongst our fourth graders. Unfortunately, the test reveals no progress 
at all amongst children in need of help. And it shows a further widening 
of the gap between the highest and lowest performing students. The 
highest scores are higher; the lowest scores are lower. Good students 
are scoring better; struggling students are struggling more. This is not 
acceptable.
    The NAEP provides an important service. It shows us where the need 
is greatest amongst our students. And these results point out, once 
again, the need for a strong emphasis on early reading. The budget I 
submitted to Congress would accomplish this with a Reading First Program 
and reformed Title I Programs. My budget gives the highest priority to 
education with an 11.5 percent increase in overall funding. It triples 
the current spending on reading and early detection of children facing 
reading difficulties.
    The House and Senate are working closely to pass a budget with this 
kind of focus. I applaud them for their efforts. It's important that we 
work together, because reading is what really turns children into 
students. It is the most basic of all basics. That was true in the 19th 
century, when Horatio Alger lived, and it's just as true for children 
today. His stories call to mind an era very distant from ours, and they 
were just stories, but they had a point, and they showed young readers 
the way.
    Such stories are still being written in America, in every town and 
city, every day, and in real life. Today we recognize 10 such lives, the 
example they set and the promise they hold for others to follow. And it 
is my honor to honor them.
    God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 3:03 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to H. Wayne Huizenga, member, 
Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, who introduced the 
President; and Ruth Stafford Peale, founder, Guideposts magazine, and 
widow of Norman Vincent Peale. The President also referred to Title I of 
the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law No. 103-382), 
which amended Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (Public Law No. 89-10).