THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very
much. Marc. There is no more important goal for
America than to make sure every person realizes the promise of our
great land. And I want to thank the good folks of America's
Promise for working tirelessly to make sure that goal reaches
throughout all our country. My administration stands side by
side with you.
And here in Washington we can
help. It's important for the Congress to pass the education
reform package to make sure no child gets left behind. It's
important for Congress to pass a good and meaningful patients' bill of
rights to make sure all in America have got good access to health
care. And it's important for America for Congress to pass my
faith-based initiative so that government can stand side by side with
the soldiers in the armies of compassion to make sure America's promise
is rich and real for every citizen. (Applause.)
I'm honored that the first chairman of
America's Promise agreed to be our nation's Secretary of
State. He's doing a fantastic job for our
country. Welcome, Mr.
Secretary. (Applause.) Like me, he married well.
(Laughter.) Thank you for being here,
Alma. (Applause.)
I want to thank
my friend, Marc Racicot, for being the Chairman of the
Board. I want to thank Peter Gallagher. I welcome
my friend, the Governor of Maine, Angus King, for being
here. I want to thank Ted Stevens and Connie Morella, as
well, for being here -- members of the United States
Congress. I want to thank the First Lady of Michigan,
Michelle Engler, for joining us, as well. It is my honor to
welcome to the Rose Garden Jackie Joiner Kersee, as well as
Bob. Thank you all, and thank you for being such a great
supporter for America's Promise.
I also want
to thank the members of the Board of Directors, as well as the members
of the Youth Leadership Team -- 15 of our best in America who are here
today. Please stand. (Applause.)
Just as I was receiving the organization's
annual report, I also had an opportunity to say hello to the
15. And our country is in great hands when you look in the
eyes of these 15 fantastic leaders. The record has been
impressive, and the commitment has been deep. And I want to
thank you, Marc, for continuing to challenge corporate America and
individuals with the simple and urgent message: There's a
need in every community and a responsible society meets those needs.
Today we're joined by several men and women
from around the country who represent the promise of America's
Promise: Mary Mahoney, the President and Chief Executive
Officer of Howard Johnson's. Where's Mary? Hi,
Mary. Thank you for
coming. (Applause.) She's been a mentor and she's
inspired employees at more than 500 hotels to serve as
mentors. I want to thank you very much for your dedication.
Leon Assael, the Dean of College of Dentistry
at the University of Kentucky, is here. Mr. Dean, where are
you? Thank you for coming, Dean.
(Applause.) They staffed a mobile dental van and asked
volunteer faculty and students to serve more than 12,500 disadvantaged
students in Appalachia. Thank you for your service to the
country.
Reverend Clifford Barnett of
Virginia's Brighton Rock AME Church. Thank you for coming,
Reverend. (Applause.) He set up a safe haven for
children to come to a place or worship, not only to find hot meals, but
to learn how to serve one another.
Charlie
Trotter of Trotter's Restaurant of Chicago. Hello, Charlie.
(Applause.) The man not only serves good food, but every
Groundhog Day he opens his kitchen to teach area youth, and has
sponsored some of his neighborhood youth through scholarship
programs. I want to thank you all for coming.
This is an example of the greatness of our
country, where people ask the question, what can I do to help, and then
not wait for some government activity to take place, but do it anyway
in spite of government. I want to thank you all for serving
as fantastic examples, just like I want to thank Aisha
Shaheen. Where is she? Aisha -- there she
is. Thank you so much for
coming. (Applause.) She understands that service
is a part of a successful life. Catch this. She
teaches honors in advanced placement English, biology and calculus to
inner-city youngsters in the South Central neighborhood of Los
Angeles.
We know what children need to
succeed. They need mentors and role models like
Aisha. They need to be healthy and educated and challenged
to serve -- and challenged to love a neighbor just like they'd like to
be loved themselves. And that's what America's Promise
does.
In many neighborhoods, what a child
needs is a caring adult. Yesterday, flying down from Maine, Angus
King, the Governor of that state, told me about a program that he's
starting to implement, where this summer they're going to recruit
30,000 mentors in the state of Maine, all aimed to surround the
children of Maine with love. All aimed at understanding
there's nothing more powerful than an individual that says to a child
in need, somebody cares for you; somebody loves you.
So, Angus, I want to thank you for setting the
example. My dream for America is for there to be mentors all
over the country, in every neighborhood, in every community, where
adults are able to say to a child, the America's promise belongs to
you, just as much as it does to anybody else.
The effort requires a broad-scaled strategy. That's why I
was pleased to see that America's Promise has drawn 500 national
partners, and more than 550 state and local partners. And
the effort really has just begun.
So I want
to thank America's Promise. I want to thank you for your
love and compassion. And I want to thank the thousands all
across our land who are working hard to make America a fabulous country
for all.
Now, there are some things that
Congress can do, as well. First, this Congress needs to get
a education reform bill on my desk before the summer
recess. We had a bill pass out of the House by a broad
margin; a bill pass out of the Senate by a broad
margin. There is no need for further delay. It is time to
get a good reform bill. (Applause.)
This is a bill that says every child matters. We believe in
setting high expectations for all children in America. We
believe every child can learn. But we also understand that
educational excellence is found at local levels. We pass
unprecedented amount of power out of Washington to local jurisdictions,
and in return for federal dollars, which we increase, we expect
results. We expect there to be a measurement so we can
herald success and address failure before it's too late.
Secondly, the Congress must act on a patients'
bill of rights -- a good patients' bill of rights, one that recognizes
patients are important, not lawyers. A patients' bill of
rights that encourages quality health care without encouraging
frivolous and junk lawsuits that will threaten the very existence of an
important health care policy in America. And so I urge --
(applause) -- I urge Congress to bring a reasonable bill to my
desk. We've made great progress; there's broad agreement.
For example, a heart patient should be able to
see a cardiologist he needs, without going through a
gatekeeper. Or a woman should be able to see her
gynecologist without asking permission. Or a parent should
always be able to choose their child's pediatrician. And
anyone denied health care by an HMO ought to have the right to an
immediate appeal, with the outcome determined by doctors, not HMO
bureaucrats or trial lawyers.
We've got the
makings for a good bill, and Congress ought to act and bring me a bill
so I can sign it before the August recess.
And finally, there is no more important initiative than the faith-based
program that I've submitted to the United States Congress. It's
important because government can't make people love one
another. But what government can do is stand side-by-side
with those who do love, and those who are compassionate. I
can't think of anything more important for our government to recognize
the power of community and faith-based groups in our
society. If the goal is to make sure no one is left behind,
let us stand side-by-side with the soldiers in the armies of compassion
who have taken on that call, themselves.
So I
urge Congress to not get stuck in the process, but to think about the
results, and to pass meaningful legislation that will allow and
encourage and foster faith-based groups all across America to help
people in need. I absolutely know that the great strength of
the country lies in the hearts and souls of our
citizens. And Congress must recognize that, by enabling such
faith-based programs to flourish all across the country. (Applause.)
So there are things we can do here in
Washington to help. But there's nothing more important than
our citizens. And America's Promise does a fabulous job of
cultivating and gathering and nurturing the compassion of
America. It's an honor to be the President of a country with
so many loving people.
I understand that
societies change one heart, one soul at a time; that here in Washington
we tend to think all we've got to do is pass a law and everything will
be fine. But that's not how it works. Cultures
and hope change as a result of our compassion in America, seizing the
moment. And that's what America's Promise is about.
So, Marc, thank you very much for bringing the
report. I'm honored to receive it. I encourage
people all across our country to find a way to help, to become involved
with making sure America's Promise is, in fact, -- reaches it's hope
all throughout our society. For those of you who are looking
for a way to help our country, call America's Promise. Say
you want to help. And I can assure you we'll sign you up.
It's now my honor to sign a resolution, like
other Presidents have done. God bless you all, and God bless
America. (Applause.)
(The
resolution is signed.) (Applause.)
END 10:40
A.M. EDT