Our first challenge is to cherish our children and strengthen America's
families. Family is the foundation of American life. If we have stronger
families, we will have a stronger America.
Before I go on, I would like to take just a moment to thank my own family,
and to thank the person who has taught me more than anyone else over 25
years about the importance of families and children--a wonderful wife, a
magnificent mother and a great First Lady. Thank you, Hillary.
All strong families begin with taking more responsibility for our children.
I have heard Mrs. Gore say that it's hard to be a parent today, but it's
even harder to be a child. So all of us, not just as parents, but all of us
in our other roles--our media, our schools, our teachers, our communities,
our churches and synagogues, our businesses, our governments--all of us
have a responsibility to help our children to make it and to make the most
of their lives and their God-given capacities.
To the media, I say you should create movies and CDs and television shows
you'd want your own children and grandchildren to enjoy.
I call on Congress to pass the requirement for a V-chip in TV sets so that
parents can screen out programs they believe are inappropriate for their
children. When parents control what their young children see, that is not
censorship; that is enabling parents to assume more personal responsibility
for their children's upbringing. And I urge them to do it. The V-chip
requirement is part of the important telecommunications bill now pending in
this Congress. It has bipartisan support, and I urge you to pass it now.
To make the V-chip work, I challenge the broadcast industry to do what
movies have done--to identify your programming in ways that help parents
to protect their children. And I invite the leaders of major media
corporations in the entertainment industry to come to the White House next
month to work with us in a positive way on concrete ways to improve what
our children see on television. I am ready to work with you.
I say to those who make and market cigarettes: every year a million
children take up smoking, even though it is against the law. Three hundred
thousand of them will have their lives shortened as a result. Our
administration has taken steps to stop the massive marketing campaigns that
appeal to our children. We are simply saying: Market your products to
adults, if you wish, but draw the line on children.
I say to those who are on welfare, and especially to those who have been
trapped on welfare for a long time: For too long our welfare system has
undermined the values of family and work, instead of supporting them. The
Congress and I are near agreement on sweeping welfare reform. We agree on
time limits, tough work requirements, and the toughest possible child
support enforcement. But I believe we must also provide child care so that
mothers who are required to go to work can do so without worrying about
what is happening to their children.
I challenge this Congress to send me a bipartisan welfare reform bill that
will really move people from welfare to work and do the right thing by our
children. I will sign it immediately.
Let us be candid about this difficult problem. Passing a law, even the best
possible law, is only a first step. The next step is to make it work. I
challenge people on welfare to make the most of this opportunity for
independence. I challenge American businesses to give people on welfare the
chance to move into the work force. I applaud the work of religious groups
and others who care for the poor. More than anyone else in our society,
they know the true difficulty of the task before us, and they are in a
position to help. Every one of us should join them. That is the only way we
can make real welfare reform a reality in the lives of the American
people.
To strengthen the family we must do everything we can to keep the teen
pregnancy rate going down. I am gratified, as I'm sure all Americans are,
that it has dropped for two years in a row. But we all know it is still far
too high.
Tonight I am pleased to announce that a group of prominent Americans is
responding to that challenge by forming an organization that will support
grass-roots community efforts all across our country in a national campaign
against teen pregnancy. And I challenge all of us and every American to
join their efforts.
I call on American men and women in families to give greater respect to one
another. We must end the deadly scourge of domestic violence in our
country. And I challenge America's families to work harder to stay
together. For families who stay together not only do better economically,
their children do better as well.
In particular, I challenge the fathers of this country to love and care for
their children. If your family has separated, you must pay your child
support. We're doing more than ever to make sure you do, and we're going to
do more, but let's all admit something about that, too: A check will not
substitute for a parent's love and guidance. And only you--only you can
make the decision to help raise your children. No matter who you are, how
low or high your station in life, it is the most basic human duty of every
American to do that job to the best of his or her ability.