    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 3 (Monday, January 21, 2002)]
    [Pages 83-85]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks on Signing the
    Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of 2001

    January 17, 2002

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Well, thanks, Laura. I appreciate
    those kind words, and I love you a lot.

    [[Page 84]]

        I want to welcome you all to the White House. It's our honor to
    entertain you all and to let you witness a piece of history here. The
    bill I'm going to sign rests on the belief that our strong Nation is
    built on strong families. The legislation reaffirms our country's
    commitment to helping children grow up in secure and loving families by
    encouraging adoption, by helping young adults make their way in life
    after they leave foster care, and by expanding mentoring for children
    who have a mom and dad in prison.
        I'm proud of the men and women of Congress who worked hard to make
    this happen. This is a really good piece of legislation. In this town,
    sometimes the really good pieces of legislation aren't really
    recognized, because there hadn't been a lot of fighting and hair-pulling
    and gnashing of teeth. But this bill, sponsored by both Democrats and
    Republicans, is a meaningful, real piece of legislation that's going to
    change people's lives.
        I want to thank Mike DeWine, and I want to thank Ben Cardin, and I
    want to thank Deborah Pryce, three of the bill's sponsors who have come
    today, for your hard work. I am sorry that Jay Rockefeller of West
    Virginia and Wally Herger of California are not here, as well. But the
    five names I just named are responsible for getting this piece of
    legislation through the House and the Senate and to my desk. And thank
    you all.
        I, too, want to thank Tommy. He's worked really hard. He's a good,
    compassionate man who cares deeply about our society. And Tommy, thanks
    for your hard work. You tell your staff, thanks, too, for working.
        The family is the foundation of this society. And here's what I
    know. It's the place where we find deep human fulfillment and where we
    find love. It is where character of our Nation is shaped and where
    values are forged. Families provide us with comfort and encouragement,
    compassion and hope, mutual support and unconditional love. No family is
    perfect, but every family is important.
        Promoting strong families was my firm commitment when I was the
    Governor of Texas, and promoting strong families remains a priority for
    me as your President. We all know that children who are surrounded by
    love have a strong foundation for success as adults. When someone thinks
    a child is the most important person in the world, that child will grow
    up to be confident in their self and loving toward others. She'll make
    her community stronger and her Nation better.
        The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program has a great goal,
    keeping families together whenever possible. It helps to prevent the
    removal of children from their homes. And if that must happen to protect
    a child's safety, it supports efforts to correct the problem that broke
    the family apart and reunite the family safely and quickly. It also
    supports adoption and post-adoptive services to place children with
    loving families, to ease a child's transition into a new family, and to
    help ensure that families stay strong and intact. My budget next year
    will build on this good work, by requesting $505 million in funding for
    the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, $130 million more than
    it receives this year.
        The bill I sign today also supports children who grew up in foster
    homes by authorizing States to provide vouchers of up to $5,000 a year
    for education and vocational training to teens who have aged out of the
    foster care system. My budget next year will ask Congress for $60
    million to fully fund this program.
        I'm especially pleased that this bill authorizes funds for a crucial
    part of my Armies of Compassion Initiative, mentoring children whose
    parents are in prison. These children don't see their parents every day
    but, like all children, need help with homework, someone to play catch
    with, someone to hug them. Countless adults are willing to open their
    hearts to these children, and we should do all we can to support their
    compassion. Government cannot love a child, but it can support those who
    do, parents and family members and neighbors and caring adults who have
    heard the call.
        We have some parents with us today who have heard the call, who
    share their love with their children and are building strong families
    through adoption. Derek and Cindy Baliles are police officers in
    Montgomery County, Maryland. Thank you all for coming. They knew they
    had a lot of love to offer, and they knew as soon as they met Taylor and
    Gerald--better known as G-man--[laughter]--that the boys would make
    great

    [[Page 85]]

    additions to their family. The boys obviously feel the same way. Thanks
    to their hard work, thanks to the hard work of a county social worker,
    their adoption was finalized quickly, on the same day as their mother's
    birthday.
        Willie and Sybil Gray originally planned to adopt one little girl
    who would become a sister to their son, Christopher. But an adoption
    agency told them that Kenyetta and Katrina, two sisters who needed a new
    home, needed to be adopted. The girls and their new parents quickly
    bonded, and Willie and Sybil will finalize their adoption in the next
    few months.
        Adoptive parents like Willie and Sybil and Derek and Cindy give
    their children the most precious gift possible, their love. Advocates
    for adoption, many of whom are in this room, know that when you find a
    loving family, it makes a huge difference in a child's life, and know
    that our national goal must be to find a loving family for every child
    that needs one.
        Sadly, a great American and a strong advocate for adoption and
    stable families passed away this week. Dave Thomas was best known as the
    founder of Wendy's Restaurants. But people who devote their lives to
    helping children know that Dave Thomas shared their commitment. As a
    child who was adopted, Dave once said, ``I feel strongly that all
    children deserve a secure and loving family.'' His own family provided
    the foundation that allowed him and encouraged him to become one of
    America's most successful entrepreneurs and one of America's most
    familiar faces.
        Dave's vision of America was one in which all children would be a
    part of a loving family, so they could grow into healthy and happy and
    successful adults. This bill that I'm fixing to sign will bring us
    closer to his vision.
        And now I'd like the Members of the Congress and Secretary Thompson
    to join me as I sign the ``Promoting Safe and Stable Families''
    legislation.

    [At this point, the President signed the bill.]

        Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:22 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of Health and Human
    Services Tommy G. Thompson. H.R. 2873, approved January 17, was assigned
    Public Law No. 107-133.