Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 / Feb. 25 309

America will be there—brighter, better, Statement on the Death of stronger than ever before. Virginia Foster Durr Thank you, and God bless you. February 25, 1999 Hillary and I are deeply saddened to hear NOTE: The President spoke at 12:35 p.m. in the Music Hall at the Tucson Convention Center. In of the death of Virginia Foster Durr. his remarks, he referred to senior citizen Esther Throughout this century, America’s long Don Tang, who introduced the President; Mayor march toward freedom and justice has been George Miller and his wife, Roslyn; Verma Pastor, the achievement of countless Americans— wife of Representative Ed Pastor; and entertainers black and white—who risked their lives to Linda Ronstadt and CeCe Peniston. lead us closer to our most cherished ideals. A white woman born to privilege in the Deep South, Mrs. Durr refused to turn a blind eye Radio Remarks on the Kennedy- to racism and intolerance in our society. Her courage, outspokenness, and steely convic- Murray Amendment to Proposed tion in the earliest days of the civil rights Education Flexibility Partnership movement helped change this Nation for- Legislation ever. Hillary and I feel honored to have February 25, 1999 known and been inspired by this truly great American. Our thoughts and prayers are with This year, we have a remarkable oppor- her friends and family. tunity to work together across party lines to bring true progress to America’s public Proclamation 7168—American Red schools. I welcome the idea of greater flexi- Cross Month, 1999 bility for States and school districts, and I February 25, 1999 urge the Senate to pass the so-called Ed-flex legislation, because it provides for greater By the President of the flexibility and greater accountability. But we of America must do more to give our children a world- A Proclamation class education. That’s why I also strongly support the amendment to the legislation For almost 120 years, the American Red proposed by Senators Kennedy and Murray Cross has served as a beacon of hope to those in need. Reaching out to victims of disaster, to continue the national commitment we generations of Red Cross volunteers have began last year: to hire 100,000 new teachers provided shelter, food, and other essential and to reduce class size all across America. services to relieve the suffering of families Studies confirm what every parent already and communities and help people begin the knows: smaller classes make a big difference, process of rebuilding their lives. Today more from improved test scores to improved dis- than a million dedicated men and women cipline. The Senate should pass the Ken- volunteer under the banner of the American nedy-Murray amendment and give our Na- Red Cross, upholding this extraordinary tra- tion’s children the individual attention they dition of service and assisting people across deserve in the classroom and the better fu- our Nation and around the world to prevent, ture only a good education can bring. prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The strength and scope of the natural dis- NOTE: The President’s remarks were recorded at asters that occurred during 1998 made this approximately 2 p.m. in the Tucson Convention past year among the most devastating in re- Center in Tucson, AZ, for later broadcast. The cent history. Floods, tornadoes, winter proposed education flexibility partnership legisla- storms, and wildfires ravaged communities tion is S. 280. A tape was not available for verifica- across the Nation. Hurricanes Georges and tion of the content of these remarks. Mitch caused record destruction in the Gulf

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