For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 6, 2001
Remarks by the President at Horatio Alger Awards
East Room
3:03 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: 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 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.
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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) A successful son of a preacher, now
chairman and CEO of Lanier Worldwide, Inc. One of you began
work at age eight 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. Dr. 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 nine,
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.
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 Process, known as the NAEP, which
measures reading skills amongst our 4th
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. (Applause.)
END 3:12
P.M. EDT
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