Clinton tries out State of the Union proposals in IllinoisBy Amy Paulson/CNN
January 28, 2000
Web posted at: 4:51 p.m. EST (2151 GMT)
QUINCY, Illinois (CNN) -- President Bill Clinton took his State of the Union message on the road Friday, appealing to a throng of shivering supporters to back the dozens of proposals he made in Thursday's address to Congress.
"Last night when I gave the State of the Union address I was fulfilling a requirement of the United States Constitution that requires the president to report every year," Clinton said of his 89-minute address Thursday night. "I wanted to come out today to the Heartland of America to say what it's all about."
"With so little crisis or external threat, I know from my experience that we should be using this time wisely to address America's challenges and seize the long term opportunities," the president said.
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President Clinton spoke Friday in Quincy, Illinois.
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Speaking in 23 degree weather in Quincy's Washington Park, where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held their historic debates, a visibly chilled president told the large and boisterous crowd: "Your welcome to me has been so warm, I don't care what it's doing outside."
Surrounded by Illinois Sens. Richard Durbin (D) and Peter Fitzgerald (R), as well as Democratic Rep. Lane Evans, whose district includes Quincy, the president said that the "community became a symbol of hope," as it recovered from the floods in 1993.
Quincy, a city of approximately 40,000 people, sits on the Mississippi River in west-central Illinois and was devastated by the river's high waters. Clinton came to the city that year to survey the flood damage, and sent Federal Emergency Management Administration Director James Lee Witt to the area to provide assistance.
"When we join hands and join hearts we can climb any mountain and turn back any tide," the president said of that 1993 crisis. "As I look out here I see a reflection of what I said last night. The state of our union is the strongest it has ever been, thanks to you."
In a short speech, the president ran through a list of initiatives proposed during Thursday night's speech, asking for America's support. "I want you to support us in saying we made a mistake to quadruple the debt, he said, adding that he has a plan to pay of the national debt in 15 years.
"The baby boomers must not impose the burden of the enormous numbers of retirement on our children, and our children's ability to raise our grandchildren," he said, referring to his plan of saving Social Security.
"We need to make sure every child starts school ready to learn and graduates ready to succeed and has access to a college education," the president said of his education proposal. That initiative earmarks $35 billion over 10 years for increased spending on Head Start and after school programs, as well as tax credits for college tuition.
"I hope to give more families the tools to succeed at home and work," clinton said in a reference to his health care proposals, which include using $400 billion from the projected federal surplus to keep Medicare solvent until 2025, as well as providing prescription drug coverage for seniors.
"Too many of our senior citizens need these medicines but can't afford it and it's the difference in the kind of life they can have," the president said. "I hope you'll support us achieve that."
Shifting to the theme of economic empowerment, Clinton said, "One of the things that really bothers me about this astonishing economic recovery of ours is that not everybody has participated in it," referring to his employment initiatives for inner city and rural areas.
"The farmers of this country by and large have not participated in this economic recovery," the president said. The Freedom to Farm bill in bad times could become a freedom to fail bill if we don't make some changes in it. "
"And so I say here in a town where not many of you are farmers but you come from farming families, I want you to support us in trying to change the farm law in Washington so that farmers in America ... can make a decent living out here," Clinton said, running through a whole host of initiatives, including income assistance, conservation and expanded access to crop insurance.
"We need to reach across racial lines, yes, to people who don't live like we do, we've got to understand that we're a strong country and we've got to work together to give everybody a chance to rise."
Reflecting on the way the nation came together during the 1993 floods, the president concluded, "If we can keep that attitude in good times, America is going to be fine."
"Remember that when you have the chance of a lifetime to do good, you cannot be lulled into complacency," Clinton said. "You have a chance, we all do, to give our children a debt-free America, a world-class education, to take care of our seniors ... and we ought to take that opportunity."
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State of the Union address - Clinton walk-in and introduction
Republican response