For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 25, 2001
Remarks by the President To the United States Conference of Mayors
Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center
Detroit, Michigan
Fact Sheet:
President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative Wins Key
Endorsement
Listen to the President's
Remarks
12:19 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all
very much. Thanks. Please be
seated. Well, Victor, thank you very much. I
appreciate your kind remarks.
Before I begin, I'd like to introduce the
First Lady. She and I are coming up from Crawford, Texas, on
our way back to the nation's capital; and we're so honored that you all
would welcome us here: Laura Bush. (Applause.)
Traveling we me, as well, is the Secretary of
Labor, Elaine Chao; the FEMA Director, Joe Allbaugh, I hope
you don't have to call him. (Laughter.) But if you do, I
can assure you, he'll be responsive.
I'm honored to be here with my friend, the
governor of Michigan and Michelle Engler. I appreciate,
Brent, so much, seeing you again, and I thank all the mayors for your
hospitality.
Traveling with me as well are members of the
United States congressional delegation: Tony Hall, J.C.
Watts, Joe Knollenberg, Jim Ramstad, and right here from her own
district, Carolyn Kilpatrick. (Applause.) I also had the
pleasure of meeting and visiting with the newest mayor on the block,
Mayor Jim Hahn, of Los Angeles. (Applause.)
It's good to see the mayors from the great
state of Texas. I see the mayor from Fort Worth and the
mayor from Dallas. I suspect the mayor from Houston is
somewhere around here -- oh, there he is. Thank you all very
much. There's another mayor -- thank you,
mayor. I remember you -- I hope you remember
me. (Laughter.) It's good to see you all.
I also want to thank the mayor of Detroit for
his hospitality. I'm reminded of what President Kennedy said
about Columbus, Ohio. He said, there's no city in America
where I get a warmer welcome, and receive less
votes. (Laughter and applause.) I think because
of that, the mayor likes me -- and in spite of that, I like the
mayor. (Laughter.)
Detroit was the site of this organization's
birth, 69 years ago, when Mayor Frank Murphy and 29 of his colleagues
met here in this city. In that year, in 1932, one-third of
Americans were unemployed. Food lines stretched for
blocks. Nearly 40 percent of America's banks had failed.
Today, the story is very
different. American cities are once again a magnet for
ambition and culture and enterprise. The welfare rolls are
down. In some places, crime rates have fallen to what they
were in the mid 1960s. Problems that once seemed hopeless
have yielded to reform and good sense. And the mayors of
America deserve much of the credit. (Applause.)
Yet, as we all know, tremendous challenges
still remain. Too many children, through no fault of their
own, are in families without fathers and neighborhoods without
opportunity. Too many young people drop out of school, drop
out of the labor force and end up in prisons. Too many men
and women wander alone in the twilight of addiction, illiteracy and
mental illness.
These problems seem immune to our
affluence. We're not in a post-poverty
America. The challenges we face are different than they were
in the 1930s, and we must recognize new challenges demand new
approaches. I realize that many of you are doing an outstanding job of
dealing with these problems, and that the burden cannot fall upon you,
alone.
The federal government should take your
side. The cities and communities of America need to be
empowered, not regimented. And this is my firm commitment to
you, the mayors. The agenda is long and very
important. Equal opportunity is an empty hope without good
schools. So the education reform legislation passed by both
the House and the Senate spreads power to local communities and, for
the first time, demands results in return. (Applause.)
It's time to act when we find that children
who graduate from high school have only an 8th grade
education. He's been betrayed by the adult world, and we
must end that betrayal by having high expectations, strong
accountability systems and the resources necessary to make sure that
not one child gets left behind in America. (Applause.)
In the aftermath of successful welfare reform,
we must turn to the problems of the working poor, especially the newly
working poor. We're encouraging home ownership providing it
by providing tax credits to investors to redevelop and build new single
family homes. We're facilitating home ownership for low
income families by allowing them to consolidate a year's worth of
Section 8 assistance for a downpayment on a home.
We believe owning something is a part of the
American future. We want all people, regardless of
background, to be able to claim a home of their own in
America. I can't think of anything better to help revitalize
the neighborhoods in America's cities. We must actively work
to fill the gaps in the health care system for the working
poor. That's why the budget I've sent up to Congress
provides resources to expand significantly the number of community
health centers, to make sure that all folks have got an opportunity for
good primary care, and proposes a new tax credit, for those who have
difficulty affording health insurance.
I'm convinced that we can make progress on the
important issues. Today, I want to focus on one in
particular: supporting the good works of charities and
neighborhood healers, empowering communities to meet their own needs,
and to care for their own members.
In every city, there are people who mentor and
tutor; who give shelter to battered women and children; who teach
biological fathers to be real and caring fathers; who help young people
find jobs and avoid violence; who confront -- who comfort the aged and
help the dying; who picket crack houses; who walk into gun-fire to end
gang wars.
These good people don't lack
compassion. They certainly don't lack
courage. They don't lack commitment and spiritual
strength. But often they lack resources. And I
believe government, where it can, should stand side by side and to help
them. (Applause.)
This belief isn't owned by Republicans or
Democrats. It doesn't fit into neat, ideological
categories. It demands an active government to support the
good works of others; an active government to spread resources and
authority beyond government entirely.
In articulating his philosophy of how to aid
American cities, Robert Kennedy said, there must be an overriding theme
and goal; the involvement of the community, of those who have the
greatest stake in the quality of the services they receive.
He spoke about putting community at the center
of all our policy. He said, government back to the people of
the neighborhood. I agree. In the 21st century,
we should bring government back to the people who have a powerful sense
of mission and idealism; back to people who know the needs of
neighbors; back to people committed to rebuilding their communities
from the inside out.
These committed men and women take the side of
hope and compassion. And we must take their side. We must
help those in need and we must encourage people to be good citizens,
instead of bystanders. So I'm pleased that more than 150
mayors' offices across the country are launching their own efforts to
encourage faith and community initiatives in partnership with the White
House.
I'm honored the U.S. Conference of Mayors has
strongly endorsed my administration's faith-based and community
initiative. I'm extremely proud to announce that Rosa Parks,
a monumental figure in the civil rights movement, has endorsed the
initiative. (Applause.) These are unprecedented
votes of confidence. They're important steps in our efforts
to bring healing and hope to those in need.
I'm excited about this approach, yet, I'm
under no illusions. I know government cannot be replaced by
charities. The best mentoring program will never be a
substitute for Medicaid for poor children. The best effort
to renovate housing will never be a substitute for fair housing laws.
Charities and community groups cannot do everything. But we
strongly believe they can do more. We must find creative
ways to expand their size and increase their number. And now
is the time to start.
I proposed a new initiative to mentor the
children of prisoners, so they are not further punished for the sins of
their parents. I have proposed expanding federally funded
after school programs, so that faith-based and community based programs
can access that money. (Applause.) I proposed a responsible
fatherhood initiative, aiding community groups that seek to strengthen
the role of fathers in the lives of families.
And soon, the United States House of
Representatives will act on HR-7, the Community Solutions Act,
sponsored by Republican J.C. Watts and Democrat Tony
Hall. (Applause.) The bill contains important
elements of the faith-based and community initiative, and I hope you'll
make your support of this legislation known to the skeptics in the
United States Senate and to the United States
House. (Applause.) HR-7 expands individual
development accounts, which provide a way for charities, government and
business to help struggling families find the security of assets and
the dignity of independence.
The bill allows not itemizing federal
taxpayers to joint itemizes in deducting their charitable
contributions, a step that should encourage new charitable giving all
across America. The Community Solution Act also expands
charitable choice, the principle already established in federal law,
that faith-based organizations should be able to compete for government
funds, without being forced to hide their religious character.
(Applause.)
We recognize that the funds will be spent on
social services, not worship services. And we recognize
there must be secular alternatives for those who wish to use the
services. We respect the separation of church and state, and
the constitutional rights of religious people. But the days
of discriminating against religious institutions simply because there
are religious must come to an end if we want to heal
America. (Applause.)
As you know, many community groups are not
religious in nature. Their employees and volunteers are
motivated by kind hearts and moral convictions. Yet, many
acts of charity and social justice are also the acts of
faith. And in our cities, they are often associated with
African American churches. More than 70 percent of African
American churches engage in community outreach programs, including day
care, job search, substance abuse prevention, food and clothing
distribution. They're far more likely to apply for public
funds for their social programs than other churches. And the
people who most often benefit from the outreach efforts of these
African American churches are poor children, who are not affiliated
with any church, at all.
In some places, African American churches are
the only institutions that hold the fraying strands of a community
together. And their work should be praised and welcomed and
encouraged. (Applause.)
I've heard the voices, and so have you, the
critics who are concerned about supporting good works, motivated by
strong faith. I suggest they go to the cities, to see the
need, and to see the hope. I suggest they talk to the
forward-thinking mayors, mayors who are on the front line, who work
closely with faith and community organizations, who are witnesses to
the power of this approach.
Your witness is in Philadelphia, where Mayor
John Street supports the Amachi program, directed by former Mayor
Wilson Goode, which recruits mentors to care for the children of
prisoners. Your witness is in Orlando, where earlier this
month Mayor Glenda Hood announced her faith-based and community
matching grants program. That program focuses on funding
youth in family projects, that contribute to civic responsibility and
character development.
Your witness is in Indianapolis, where my good
friend, Steve Goldsmith, when he was the mayor, pioneered the Front
Porch Alliance, a partnership between city hall and the values shaping
institutions in Indianapolis that helped transform this
city. And thank you for being here today,
Steve. (Applause.)
You know that child care vouchers are used at
houses of worship. You know the Head Start programs are
often found in religious settings. You know that many public
services in our cities are provided through Catholic Charities or the
Salvation Army. You know that many government dollars in
Medicaid and Medicare are used in religious hospitals.
In all these cases, we are funding the good
works of the faithful, not faith itself. Do the critics of
this approach really want to end these programs? I certainly
hope not. It would be bad for
America. (Applause.)
I understand, mayors, my administration did
not invent the idea of community empowerment. But along with
you, we're going to build on it. Together, we're going to convince the
skeptics. Together, we're going to put the federal
government and local government squarely on the side of America's
armies of compassion. (Applause.)
There are great stories in every great city,
stories of grand ambition and immigrant enterprise and cultural
achievement. There are also stories of suffering, redeemed
by hope and faith. And we should listen to those stories as
well.
The Brightmore neighborhood in northwest
Detroit can be a tough place to grow up. Some people even
ask, can anything good come out of Brightmore? Well, it
turns out that much good does come out of that
neighborhood. At Rosedale Park Baptist Church, a group of
young men and women have committed their lives to bringing hope to
young African-Americans.
And one of the young men they've helped is
Demarco Howard. Demarco's dad had been in prison since he
was a baby. His mom was addicted to drugs and was unable to
raise him, so his Aunt took on the responsibility and she did the very
best job she could possibly do. But life was
tough. Demarco was shot when he was six, and spent a year in
the hospital recovering. He was often in trouble, and at the
age of 14, was arrested and sent to a juvenile detention
facility. At that facility, Demarco met someone on the staff
of Rosedale Park Baptist Church. Demarco began attending
bible study classes. And his life began to change in
dramatic ways.
He goes to school, he does his homework, he
goes to church, and he volunteers to help other kids in
trouble. I had a chance to look Demarco in the eye and thank
him for his leadership, and asked him how life was. And he said, It's
getting a lot better, Mr. President. Thank you for coming,
Demarco. (Applause.)
America can be saved, one heart, one soul, one
conscience at a time. The pastor of Rosedale, Dennis Talbert is fond
of quoting a passage from the Book of Romans: When I want to
do good, evil is right there with me. That accurately describes the
situation of many of our children in America. Evil is what his church
is fighting against, with impressive results. And it's worth
noting that Rosedale's outreach programs are financially supported by
the Department of Justice and Michigan's Family Independence Agency,
among others, and it shows what is possible.
Stories like these are being written all
across America, and it's the goal of this administration to praise them
at every chance, and to replicate them where we can. I hope
you continue your good works as mayors. You're on the front
line. At least in Washington, we don't have to worry about
how the garbage gets emptied. (Laughter.) But at
least in Washington, we can work in Washington to make sure the garbage
gets changed. We can make sure that we think differently
about the problems that confront us. We can make sure we ask
the question, what are the results, not what is the
process. And together, we can rally the great compassion and
faith and hope of America.
Thank you for what you do, and thank you for
giving me the chance to come by and say hello. God
bless. (Applause.)
END
12:40
P.M. EDT
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