[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.