I thank the people who are here from New York and New Jersey for the enormous victory you gave to Al Gore and to me on election day. It's the first time I've had a chance to say formally, thank you, here in this part of the world. I am very grateful. I also want to thank Bob Kerrey for agreeing to take on this job again and for what he said.

This has been an eventful time for our country. We just celebrated an Inauguration. We just had a very good State of the Union and response to it. We are working with Members of Congress in both parties on the right kind of balanced budget agreement. I'm working on the Middle East again and have some hope there. We just had the American Airlines strike deferred. And just a couple of days ago, our Trade Ambassador, Charlene Barschefsky, concluded a trade agreement that we believe will create a million new high-wage American jobs in the next decade. It is a good time for the country, and we are moving in the right direction.

As I said at the State of the Union and I'd like to say again, what we're doing in a larger sense is preparing our country for a new century and a new millennium, and our goal ought to be to give more people than ever before the chance to live out their own dreams and to live in harmony with their brothers and sisters across racial and religious and ethnic lines and to make this country once again the greatest hope for freedom and peace and prosperity throughout the next century. That's the best thing, I think, not only for us but for the rest of the world. And in order to do that, we need to understand very clearly why we're here today and what happened. The economy is better because we changed the economic policy of the country. We don't have trickle-down economics anymore; we've got investment economics. We brought the deficit down, expanded trade, invested in our people and our technology, and we have 111⁄2 million jobs to show for it. We ought to be glad of that and proud of it.

We went beyond rhetoric and tough talk in crime and welfare reform. We had the biggest drop in welfare rolls in history, in 5 years the dropping in crime. And people are actually beginning to conceive that their streets might be safe again. We put family and com

munity not at the center of our talk but at the center of our social policy with things like the Family and Medical Leave Act and the V-chip and the television ratings and the initiative against teen smoking.

And these things are making a difference in people's lives. And that's what happened in the election. We steadfastly stood against those who sought to use race or religion to divide the American people and took some pretty unpopular positions clear across the country in California on affirmative action and immigration initiatives. But the people of California stayed with us because they knew we were trying to bring out the best in the American people and we all have to go forward together.

And let me just say, finally, we rejected, I think conclusively, the dominant political theory of the last 16 years, which is that Government is the problem. It is not the problem. That is not true. Neither is it the salvation. But the market will not solve all the problems in the world, and the market will not solve all the problems of America. And that is one of the things that makes me a Democrat. Senator Kerrey and I talked for nearly an hour on the phone several weeks ago about it. And we believe the job of Government is to provide the conditions and the tools for people to solve their own problems, seize their own opportunities, and make the most of their own lives.

We have reduced the size of the Government more than our counterparts in the other party, reduced the size of regulation. We have led the way toward a lot of changes, through the Vice President's efforts, that needed to be made. But we do not believe that that which we do together through our Government is the enemy of America and its future. We believe we have to work together to make the most of the future. That's why we're here tonight.

And when we look ahead-I want to say something about what Bob said. I appreciate the fact that you came here knowing you might be targeted for the exercise of your constitutional right to stand up and support the people you believe in. And I thank you for being here. I thank you for being here.

You need to know, as people who invest in this, exactly what happened in the last

election to the best of our ability to know it. I want you to know two things. Number one, for reasons I cannot explain or defend, our party did not check all the contributions that were given. Therefore, less than 2 percent of the total had been returned either because they were not lawful or because they raised questions even though they were clearly lawful. They were not all illegal, but we just decided we didn't even want any questions raised about ours. All it did was get more questions raised, but we did it in good faith. And 99.9 percent of all the people who contributed to us—one million, I might add, in the last cycle-one million for the first time have not had their contributions questioned. Indeed, more than 99.9 percent.

So everything you have had to endure, including some of the calls you have received, have come because of what was done by less than one-tenth of one percent of the total number of contributors we had, involving less than 2 percent of the money we raised. But it was wrong not to check those contributions. And if your party had been doing its job, you wouldn't be hearing about all that today. That is everybody's responsibility, from me down, who didn't know about it and should have. But it will never happen again. You can rest assured.

And so we now have to ask ourselves, never mind about this, what is the right thing for the country? Here's why I believe we ought to pass campaign finance reform. I don't agree, as some people do, that a large contribution is automatically suspect and automatically compromises a public official. I don't agree with that. But I do agree that if it costs too much money for a party to do its business and for candidates to do theirs, that you have to raise so much money and it takes so much time to raise it, that it undermines the quality and erodes the independence of the political system. And I think all of you would agree with that.

And so what I want to ask you to do is to support a bipartisan solution to this. The McCain-Feingold bill, I think, is a good bill. It restricts the overall spending. It restricts the size of contributions. It leaves an even playing field between the parties and between challengers and incumbents. And it gives people a discount-candidates—for the

cost of communicating over the airwaves, which is so terrifically expensive.

If we did that, we could all still come here, we could all still gather, we could all still give, we could all still do it, but we could do it knowing that our fellow citizens who cannot afford to come here tonight would think they were more equally represented in the political arena. And we could do so knowing that these people that we support when they run and work hard-and keep in mind, my campaigns are over now, so I'm doing this on behalf of them-that we know that they can spend an appropriate amount of time going out and raising funds and listening to people and hearing out the concerns of people in their districts, their States, and their nations,

but that it won't take all their time and it won't take all your time. Besides that, it won't cost you as much money. [Laughter] But the main thing is, it will be better for our country.

So if there's one group of people I would like to see in the forefront of advocating a reasonable bipartisan campaign finance reform, it is the contributors of the Democratic Party, the Democratic Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Committee, the Democratic House Committee, the people that helped me become President. So I ask you, please help you, please help me do that and give our own that our friends on the other side join us and Members the courage they need to demand do this. We need to just put this behind us.

The system was created in '74. It worked fine for us for a while. It's been overtaken by events. You understand it better than anybody else. You're on the receiving end of it. Help me pass campaign finance reform this year. I need your help, and I want you to do it.

The other thing I want to tell you is this: We have a chance this year to pass a balanced budget, to do some things in welfare reform that will really prove that we're not just being tough and talking and saying, people who can work, must work, but to actually give people a chance to work and to get an education. We have a chance to expand our trade networks, particularly in Latin America and Asia, in ways we never have before. The First Lady and our daughter are about to go to Africa on a sweeping trip there.

We have a chance to pass significant improvements in health care for children. We have a chance to do a number of things in foreign affairs to make the world safer. We have a chance to deal with the entitlements problem for the next generation. All of this can be done this year.

It can only be done if I can maintain an atmosphere of both openness to members of the Republican Party who want to work with us and if the Democrats know that we are proceeding with conviction to prepare this country for the next century consistent with what we pledged to do in the election.

And what I want to ask you to do is to continue to give me your support in a constructive way. When we deal with these issues, if you have some suggestion, let me know. If you can mobilize support, do it. But just remember, every day is a day we're mov-. ing closer to a new century and a new millennium, and if we do our job, we will open the greatest period in American history. If we fail to do our job, our children and grandchildren should never forgive us. And if something happens that we don't do it in Washington, we ought to make sure it is not the responsibility of our Democrats in the Senate or the House or the White House. Every day we get up and go to work there to try to make this country a better place. Ultimately, when you get right down to the bottom line, that is what you have supported and what I promise you you will continue to support. And I want you always to be proud of it and always to believe in it.

Thank you, and God bless you all.

NOTE: The President spoke at 9 p.m. at the residence of Shelby and Katherine Bryan.

Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion
on Juvenile Crime in Boston,
Massachusetts
February 19, 1997

The President. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, and let me thank all the panelists who are here and all of those who are in the audience, people who represent law enforcement groups around America, people who represent the families who have suffered loss.

We are here today for a simple reason: Boston proves that we can take the streets back of our country from juvenile violence and crime, from murder, from lost lives, that we can give our children back their childhood and we can give our streets and our neighborhoods back to the families who live on them.

And what we are trying to do in Washington, what I am determined to do in this legislative session, is to take the lessons learned and the triumphs achieved here in Boston and the progress made and embody it in a legislative proposal that the Attorney General has worked very hard with me on to try to give other communities the chance to do what you have done here. It's not a very complicated strategy, but it's the most sensible one we can follow.

Between 1990 and 1995, juvenile homicides dropped by 80 percent in the city of Boston. Since July of 1995, not a single child under 16 has been killed by a gun in this city. Our anti-gang and youth violence strategy essentially rests on four elements, all of which can be found in what has been done here: first, targeting violent gangs and juveniles with more prosecutors and tougher laws; second, working to make our children gun-free and drug-free; third, streamlining and reforming our juvenile justice system; and fourth, giving our young people something to say yes to, not just looking for ways to punish those who have done wrong but to give kids a chance to make some positive steps and actually have a little constructive fun in their lives. I've seen that here in Boston, too.

I have a lot to be grateful to the mayor for, but one of the things that I'm especially grateful for is that he gave me a chance early on in his term to sit and meet with his youth council, the young people that have advised him and worked with him, along with Sister Jean, who has been to Washington to help us out a couple of times.

And I have seen the remarkable balance of your program; I'm excited about it. I also know that for this to succeed nationwide everyone has a part to play. We can pass laws in Washington, we can be supportive at the Federal level, but we have to have the support of grassroots citizens, of business lead

ers, religious leaders, as well as those in law enforcement and parents and obviously the political leaders here.

So, Mr. Mayor, I'm glad to be here. Governor, Senator, Congressmen, thank you all for having us here, and I think I'd like to let you go on with the program now and lis

ten.

[At this point, Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston introduced Paul Evans, Boston police commissioner, who discussed Boston's law enforcement strategy based on a neighborhood policing program. William Stewart, Suffolk County Superior Court probation officer, then discussed the Operation Night Light partnership between police officers and probation officers, including night home visits with juvenile offenders and their parents. Terry Thompson, member of the mayor's youth council, said Operation Night Light had gotten him off the street and turned his probation officer into a friend.]

The President. How old are you now? Mr. Thompson. Nineteen. The President. You're 19, and you're working two jobs?

[Mr. Thompson affirmed that, saying that he was the first of his probation officer's clients to get a GED and that he still visited his probation officer and others in the department because he liked them.]

The President. Good for you. [Rev. Jeffrey Brown of the Ten-Point Coalition described the activities of the ecumenical group of clergy and laity to combat innercity violence and despair and provide hope and spiritual discipline to youth.]

The President. I was just thinking, if I

might, that you had a remarkable phrase in your remarks that maybe those of us who live and work in Washington, along with the kids that you work with on the streets, need to develop. You said you're trying to help people develop a spiritual discipline against the resentments they feel. I think that's pretty good. We all need that. [Laughter] Good

for you.

[Ralph Martin, Suffolk County district attorney, discussed the changing role of prosecutors as community leaders who could bring

together a variety of community resources to restore order in neighborhoods. Capt. Robert P. Dunford of Boston's Area C-11 Police District discussed accountability and communication at the grassroots level, the safe neighborhood initiative, and home visits to habitual truants. Lanita Tolentino, member of the mayor's youth council, described its activities as a liaison between the mayor and the youth of Boston.]

The President. How often do you meet with the mayor-does the council meet with the mayor?

Ms. Tolentino. I would say, every 2 months, about that. But I see him more than that.

[Mayor Menino noted that he saw everyone more often than that. Tanya Brooks, Suffolk County Superior Court probation officer, then described her rules for probationers, saying she was considered unreasonable by some but appreciated by others. Attorney General Janet Reno praised Boston's cooperative efforts to make a difference in the lives of its young people. Mayor Menino then reiterated the importance of partnership, and Sister Jean Girbaudo, the mayor's youth adviser, praised his commitment, saying that the young people of Boston had a direct influence on public policy. U.S. Attorney Donald Stern described targeted efforts against gun traffickers, repeat violent offenders, and violent criminal organizations as an extension of community policing and expressed support for legislation to provide additional tools at the Federal level.]

The President. If I could just say very briefly, in support of not only what the JusRay Kelly here, who's our Under Secretary tice Department has done but also we have

of the Treasury for Enforcement: We do recognize that one of our important roles nationally-and I want to thank all the Members

of the Senate and the House that are here

for their support is to do what we can to at least disarm people who should not have

guns.

And I think the Brady bill has helped, the assault weapons bill has helped, the work the Treasury has done to try to be more disciplined in who can be federally licensed to sell guns has helped. There are fewer than

half the number of people licensed to sell guns today than there were 4 years ago, fewer than half. And I thank you for that, for your efforts there.

And in this bill we have two other things: We extend the provisions of the Brady bill to violent juvenile offenders, and we require some sort of trigger or gun lock mechanism to be on guns that are in the reach of children. I think that's very important. I thank you for what you're doing.

[Mayor Menino introduced Senator John F. Kerry, who said that anticrime legislation was a godsend in providing Federal funding to community programs. Gov. William Weld of Massachusetts stressed the importance of education and job programs to prevent crime and praised the administration's support for prevention efforts. Massachusetts Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger reiterated that the best anticrime program was prevention and thanked the President for spotlighting that. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II noted the role of neighborhood residents in reclaiming their neighborhood from crime and the demonstrated success of prevention programs. Representative John Joseph Moakley thanked the President for supporting anticrime legislation. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., noted the success of community policing and said that Boston provided an example to the rest of the Nation that prevention programs worked as well. Mayor Menino concluded that the keys to success were collaboration and communication, along with the tools provided by anticrime legislation.]

The President. Thank you very much, Mayor. I don't think we can possibly minimize the role that you have played in all this, the impetus you gave to everybody else. You are someone who is as gifted as anyone I've ever known at bringing people together and making people feel comfortable, when they're from different walks of life, in the same room together working on the same thing. I think the enormous trust the people of this city have in you is one of the reasons this has happened. And I thank you for that. Let me also say just briefly, in closing, two points. Number one, when I asked Janet Reno to become Attorney General, I knew that I was that we were together taking a

chance, because I had been a State attorney general and a Governor, dealing with crime problems-Governor of a small State dealing with crime problems on a community basis. And she had been a prosecuting attorney in a very large and a very complicated county, with enormous and very challenging problems. But neither one of us had ever dealt with the Federal system except on the other end of it.

I did it because we believed together that the only way we would ever get the crime dren's lives and giving people the confidence rate going back down and start saving chilthey need to deal with all the other challenges the economic, the educational, the other challenges we face is if the lessons that were being manifested at the community level in America could somehow sweep the country and be reflected in national policy.

When I became President and I discovered that Senator Biden, then the Chairman of the Senate committee that had control of this legislation, believed the same thing, we fated a lot of heat and became vulnerable to a lot of very-what was in the short run quite effective political rhetoric, you know, and throwing money at these problems and we were trying to take everybody's guns away all that. But you see, now, 4 years later, we know the truth, that what we have tried to do is simply give more people like Mayor Menino and Probation Officer Brooks and Commissioner Evans and Captain Dunford and all the others a chance to succeed all over America. That's what we've tried to do.

It is a very simple strategy, but it will work. It will work. And today the juvenile program I'm going to announce is basically an attempt to take what you have proved works here and give those tools to every community in the Nation to follow. Let me just say, no disrespect to anybody else, but you know the people I listened most closely to today were Terry and Lanita because they're going to be around here long after I'm gone.

And what we have to do, the rest of us, is to construct a system that works for them and that works for parents like the Chery's, who lost a child because of the failures of America and who have spent their lives now trying to make sure it doesn't happen to anybody else. So this is a huge deal.