Apr. 14 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998

Remarks at the Lyndon B. in April 14, 1998

Thank you very much. Once again, I’m de- your Land Commissioner, Garry Mauro, and lighted to be back here. I have to beg your your State Senator, Rodney Ellis, for being here, pardon for starting this program a little late, and the other city officials who are here, Don but when I get here, I get involved in what Boney, Sylvia Garcia. Judge Eckels, thank you I’m doing. And besides that, wanted for coming. I’d like to thank Colonel Curt to make sure I saw every single square inch— Brown, who is the commander for the mission [laughter]—of space he would be living and ma- Senator Glenn is going to. And you see his neuvering in—which didn’t take all that long whole team back here, including a member from to see, actually. [Laughter] But we’ve had a Japan and a member from Europe, who is a wonderful day. native from Madrid, Spain. And we’re glad to I want to thank Dan Goldin for doing a mar- have all of them here. velous job. One thing he did not mention was I’d like to thank David Wolfe and all the the fact that he made the decision, which I other astronauts that showed me around, and strongly supported, to continue our involvement also the folks on the Neurolab team that talked with the Mir, to participate with our partners to me by long distance. there in the spirit of international cooperation I have had another great day here at the in space. And I thank him for that. I’d also Johnson Space Center. On behalf of all your like to say to George Abbey, thank you very fellow Americans, I want to thank you, those much for all the work that you and all the of you who work here, for expanding the fron- wonderful people here do. Thank you, Mayor tiers of our knowledge, launching our imagina- Brown. I’m very proud that you were once a tion, helping our spirits to soar. Each of you— member of my Cabinet, and I see you’ve gone our scientists, our engineers, our astronauts, on to higher things. [Laughter] those of you who work in other capacities— That reminds me—you know, Abraham Lin- embody the bold, restless, pioneering spirit of coln used to keep regular office hours in the America. White House. And a woman broke in the White I’m also proud to be here, as Dan Goldin House one day, in a fit of anger and anxiety, said, with our oldest and newest man in space, worried about something, and she ran into him. John Glenn. He and Mrs. Glenn—Annie, who And she was so excited she didn’t recognize is here with us, and I’m delighted to see her— him—there wasn’t any television back then, of have been good friends of Hillary’s and mine course—and she said, ‘‘I demand to speak to for a long time now. I have loved working with no one lower than the President.’’ And he said, him in Washington. I, frankly, was heartsick ‘‘Ma’am, there is no one lower than the Presi- when he said he wasn’t going to run again for dent.’’ [Laughter] the Senate. He said, ‘‘Well, I’m too old.’’ So you folks gave Lee a promotion. I under- [Laughter] And he said, ‘‘Oh, by the way, can stand he’s the first mayor, actually sitting mayor, you get me into space?’’ [Laughter] I said, to come out here to the Johnson Center, and ‘‘Now, wait a minute, John, you’re too old to I think that’s a very good thing, and I appreciate do 6 more years in the Senate, but you’re plenty that. young enough to go into space?’’ I’d like to thank Congressman Lampson. You The truth is, this man has done 149 combat just heard—he’s the fairly eloquent advocate on missions in World War II and Korea; 4 hours, your behalf. I asked him whether he and I 55 minutes, and 23 history-making seconds should volunteer to go to Mars if we get the aboard Friendship 7; and 4 terms in the United mission. It would make a lot of people happy, States Senate. In today’s atmosphere, perhaps at least if I went, I think. [Laughter] that latter accomplish was his most hazardous I’d like to thank Representatives Sheila Jack- duty; maybe it is safer for him to go into space. son Lee and Gene Green and Ken Bentsen for [Laughter] But he’s here doing what he has being here today and for the work they do for desperately wanted to do. And I think I can Texas, for the Houston area. I’d like to thank say, without fear of anyone contradicting me,

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that the decision was made by Dan Goldin to And yet, even as you have worked hard to allow Senator Glenn to participate because we reach for the stars, NASA has more than ever thought it would be good for the space program, kept its feet grounded in fiscal discipline. Con- good for science, good for the American people, gressman Lampson’s claim for an adequate good for our future. budget for NASA’s future is bolstered by the The only thing is—as Dan and I were talking leadership Dan Goldin has given. Since 1993, on the way in about what remarkable shape productivity at NASA has increased by 40 per- John and Annie are in, and the whole purpose cent; new spacecraft are being built in half the of him going up there, you know, is to find time at much less cost. That is something you out what the effects of space and long space can be proud of. And in the 1980’s, we launched travel are on the aging process and on the elder- just two solar system exploration missions. This ly, and since he really hasn’t aged in the last year we’re on schedule to launch a spacecraft 40 years—it’s going to be a total bust. [Laugh- every 10 weeks. ter] But we’ll get a kick out of watching him I am committed to maintaining a strong, sta- wander around up there anyway. ble, balanced space program. Our balanced I do want to say, seriously, we are living budget will support 28 new space missions— longer than ever before as Americans. It is im- missions that will help us decipher more of the perative that we live healthier than ever before. mysteries of black holes and ancient stars and of Earth and, indeed, life itself. That requires not only the maintenance of our Hillary and I are working on a big national physical health, but the continuing fires of our celebration of the millennium, which, as you imagination. know, is not very many days away now, and We have a lot of health care costs now associ- we have called it, ‘‘honoring our past and imag- ated with our longevity. A lot of people com- ining our future.’’ We have asked the Congress plain about it. I personally think it’s a high- to dramatically increase the research and devel- class problem, and the older I get, the more opment budget for America across all the areas I think it’s a high-class problem. But it is imper- where we need to be learning more and looking ative that we learn as much as we can about more. We cannot imagine our future without the aging process. That’s one of the most excit- a vigorous, comprehensive, and consistent com- ing things I think will come out of the Neurolab mitment to our mission in space. And I thank mission that’s going up on Thursday. It’s also you for what you’re doing today. imperative that we hold up as role models peo- On the day after Senator Glenn’s first historic ple who, in their mid-seventies, still dare to flight, at the height of the cold war, President dream new dreams. And I think we should all Kennedy invited the Russians to join us in ex- learn a lesson from that, whether we can go ploring outer space. ‘‘We believe that when men into space or not. reach beyond this planet they should leave their Thanks to NASA, America has met President national differences behind them,’’ he said. ‘‘All Kennedy’s challenge of becoming the world’s will benefit if we can invoke the wonders of leading space-faring nation. We’ve left our foot- science instead of its errors.’’ Thirty-six years prints on the Moon, explored the surface of later, we are indeed leaving behind national dif- Mars, completed 89 missions, or- ferences, invoking the wonders of science for bited Earth for 755 days, 12 hours, and 44 min- the benefit of humanity. utes. When the 90th mission lifts off into space Seven Americans have lived aboard the Rus- this Thursday, 238 Americans will have had the sian space station, Mir—the last 6 for 25 con- chance to see the stars up close, and more and secutive months—working with Russians and 14 more, to see the stars up close and to work other nations. Soon, the international space sta- with dedicated people from other nations who tion will be launched—the size of a football share the same goals and dreams of a peaceful, field, so large it will actually be visible to the cooperative future. naked eye here on Earth. We’ve launched satellites and probes that Yes, as Mr. Goldin alluded, it was a fight have alerted us to weather phenomenon like for awhile, and there were those who thought ˜ El Nino, discovered water on the Moon, made we should abandon it. But we did not abandon instantaneous communication between peoples it. And 10 or 20 years from now, people will on opposite sides of the Earth a reality. wonder that we ever even considered such a

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thing, because we will all, before long, be thank- who work here at Johnson Space Center will ing our lucky stars that we had the vision to always carry that conviction not only in your work with people from around the world to set minds but in your hearts. When it comes to up the international space station in the sky. exploring space, we must never consider any From it we will explore vast new frontiers, chart mission impossible. The story of our space pro- unexplored seas, reach a little deeper into the gram is the story of barriers broken and new vast final frontier. worlds uncovered. Let us make sure that is the In so many ways, your mission here at NASA story of our space program in the 21st century. reflects the spirit of America for every child Thank you, and God bless you. who’s ever tied a cape made of a sheet or a rag around his neck and dreamed of flying, for every mother who ever sang a child to sleep NOTE: The President spoke at 12:55 p.m. in Build- with ‘‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,’’ for every ing 9. In his remarks, he referred to George W.S. senior citizen who ever stared at the heavens Abbey, Director, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Cen- in the wonder of what might be out there. You ter; Houston Mayor Lee Patrick Brown; City are the place where dreams are made real, Councilman Jew Don Boney, Jr.; City Controller where impossible missions are accomplished by Sylvia R. Garcia; Judge Robert A. Eckels, Harris remarkable people. County Commissioners Court; Lt. Col. Curtis L. We have become a great nation in no small Brown, Jr., USAF, STS–95 mission commander; measure because our people have always recog- and astronauts Chiaki Mukai, Japanese Space nized the limitless possibilities of the human Agency, , European Space Agency, spirit. I have every confidence that those of you and David A. Wolfe, NASA.

Remarks at the ESPN Townhall Meeting on Race in Houston April 14, 1998

[ESPN commentator Bob Ley, who served as chance, and I would hope, too, that the concern moderator, welcomed the President and asked for the lives of the players off the field, off what such a dialog on race and sports could the court, and what they’re doing when their bring to the Nation at large.] athletic careers are over, and whether they still The President. Well, first of all, let me thank will be full and equal members of society, clos- you and ESPN for doing this for the second ing the opportunity gaps that have existed his- time, and thank our panelists for being willing torically between the races in our country— to put themselves on the line and be honest whether there’s something we can do about that, and open and accountable to the audience. because that clearly will have larger implications I’d like to say a couple of things I think for the society as a whole. we can achieve. First of all, America, rightly But all of us, as Americans, I think, should or wrongly, is a sports-crazy country and we be both proud of how far we’ve come when often see games as a metaphor or a symbol we see what racial and ethnic and religious ten- of what we are as a people. So I think by sions are doing in other parts of the world, dealing with both the positive things which have and at the same time should be very determined happened, in terms of opportunity for people to continue to meet the challenges that still of all races and people getting together and exist, because our country is becoming more working together, and the continuing challenges and more racially and ethnically diverse. And in athletics, I think just by doing that we learn if we can be one America, celebrating our diver- more about the rest of the country and what sity but knowing what we have in common, then needs to be done. it’s the greatest asset I can imagine for us to Beyond that, I think that it’s important that take into the 21st century. But it’s something people see that in athletics in America, that we really have to work at, as I’m sure all these the rules are fair, that people get their fair folks will tell us.

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