We must redouble our efforts to make sure every American child, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income, has access to the finest public elementary and secondary schools in the world. This is the fair and right thing to do, because we live in an information age in which education is everything. If we believe in the value that every American should share in the bounty of prosperity, then every American deserves a first-class education.

President Bill Clinton
September 25, 1998

Today, President Clinton travels to Chicago, where he will visit the Jenner Elementary School, a school that has improved reading and math scores among its students through a tutoring program and after-school program. The President applauds these efforts as an example of the education reform that he is calling on Congress to pass as part of his education agenda to ensure that all of our nation's children have access to the very best public schools for the 21st Century.

President Clinton Stands With Families And Children. As we move into the 21st Century, providing our children with a quality elementary and secondary education will be crucial. The President's education agenda demands responsibility and accountability from everybody involved in the education system -- students, teachers, parents, and principals. The President's agenda puts progress above partisanship, but Congress has refused to act:

• The President called for smaller classes in grades 1-3 with the help of 100,000 new teachers,
  Congress has not responded;
• The President called for voluntary national tests for 4th grade reading and 8th grade math,
  Congress has not responded;
• The President called for after-school and summer school programs for schools that end social promotion,
  Congress has not responded;
• The President called for safer schools through more partnerships with local law enforcement,
  Congress has not responded;
• The President called for every school to have Internet connections by 2000,
  Congress has not responded;
• The President called for tax breaks to build, modernize, and renovate thousands of schools,
  Congress has not responded;
• The President called for more charter schools, and better rewards for our most dedicated teachers,
  Congress has not responded;

Strong Economic Leadership, Maintaining Fiscal Discipline. When President Clinton took office in 1993, our budget deficit was nearly $300 billion and unemployment was over 7 percent. Many said our nation was in decline, but the President's leadership, and the hard work of the American people, proved the critics wrong. When the fiscal year starts next week, our budget will be in surplus for the first time in 29 years; unemployment is at a 28 year low; 16.7 million new jobs have been created; the crime rate is at a 25 year low; we have the lowest inflation rate in 32 years; and the highest home-ownership rate in history. Although our country has reaped the benefits of this prosperity, there is still much work to do, that is why the President is committed to maintaining fiscal responsibility by reserving the surplus for Social Security and supporting an education, health care, environmental, and economic agenda that will help ensure that our country continues to move forward into the 21st Century.