For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 17, 2004
President's Radio Address
Audio
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Every day in America, parents
struggle to raise their children in a culture that too often glorifies
instant gratification and irresponsible behavior. During this time of
great change in our Nation, government must stand with families to help
them raise healthy, responsible children.
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Yesterday, the federal government released its annual report called
"America's Children in Brief." This report collects a broad range of
statistics that tell us about the promises and challenges facing
America's young people. The good news is that we have made significant
progress during the past decade. Strong families and communities are
instilling responsibility and character in our children, and we are
seeing encouraging results.
Violent crime among our teenagers has decreased dramatically. From
1993 to 2002, the rate of teens committing violent crimes dropped 78
percent; and the rate of teens becoming victims of violent crimes
dropped 74 percent. Among our youth, smoking and illicit drug use have
declined. Teen birth rates have fallen to the lowest levels ever
recorded, with the greatest progress occurring among African - American
teenagers.
Studies tell us that children raised in a household with married
parents are far less likely to live in poverty, fail at school, or have
behavioral problems. Fortunately, after a decades-long downward trend,
the percentage of children living with married parents has remained
steady since 1995. And through our proposed Healthy Marriages
Initiative, my Administration is committed to ensuring that more of our
children grow up in a stable home with a married mother and father.
We are headed in the right direction. But we still have work to
do, so my Administration is acting to encourage teens to make healthy
choices. Although teen drug use has decreased, we can and must do
more. We know that random drug testing in schools is effective, and it
allows us to identify kids who need help. In my most recent budget, I
proposed spending an additional $23 million for school drug testing.
And although teen birth rates have declined, about 3 million of our
teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases each year. So we've
requested a doubling of federal funding for abstinence-only education
programs. We have also requested $25 million for our Character
Education Initiative. This program will encourage schools to develop
curricula that promote good character and help children develop a sense
of responsibility to their community. Today, I urge the Congress to
act on all these important initiatives.
When parents, schools, and government work together, we can counter
the negative influences in today's culture and send the right messages
to our children. As yesterday's report shows, we are making progress
in changing the culture of America from one that said, "if it feels
good, do it; and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else," to a
culture in which each of us understands we are responsible for the
decisions we make in life. The decisions our children make now will
affect their health and character for the rest of their lives. And
when they make the right choices, they are preparing themselves to
realize the bright future our Nation offers each of them.
Thank you for listening.
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