Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 / Dec. 9

Statement on Signing the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 December 9, 1999

Today I have signed into law H.R. 3456, the I fully support efforts to make sentences in ‘‘Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Dam- criminal cases involving intellectual property of- ages Improvement Act of 1999.’’ This legislation fenses true deterrents against the commission will increase for the first time since January of those offenses and am pleased that H.R. 3456 1988 the statutory damages that a copyright will require the Sentencing Commission to ad- holder may recover for certain copyright in- dress this matter on an expedited basis. fringements. This increase in penalties would WILLIAM J. CLINTON be an effective deterrent to would-be pirates of copyrighted works. This Act also directs the The White House, United States Sentencing Commission to issue December 9, 1999. sentencing guidelines to ensure that sentences for criminal offenses against intellectual property NOTE: H.R. 3456, approved December 9, was as- are sufficiently severe to deter such offenses. signed Public Law No. 106–160.

Message on the Observance of Ramadan, 1999 December 9, 1999

Warm greetings to Muslims across America Sadly, in too many communities around the and around the world as you celebrate the start world, Muslims and other believers are unable of Ramadan, a holy month of prayer, fasting, to worship according to their religious traditions. reflection, and good works. We look forward to the day when people of Islam is one of the world’s most prominent all faiths can freely express their beliefs without religions and a source of profound strength and fear of persecution or discrimination. guidance for millions of Americans. Members Each year, Ramadan brings a promise of re- of the Muslim American community have made newal and hope for the world. I pray that, as enormous contributions to our national life. I the new moon rises, we will witness the begin- am especially pleased that my alma mater, ning of a new era of tolerance around the globe. Georgetown University, has named its first Mus- As the followers of Islam celebrate the revela- lim chaplain, reflecting the increasing recogni- tion of God’s word to Muhammad, we join you in honoring his call for harmony and peace. tion in our country of the Islamic faith and our firm commitment to religious tolerance. BILL CLINTON

Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Dinner December 9, 1999

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I thank Ed Rendell. For those of you who It’s been a long but a wonderful night. I am don’t know him, you will get to know him. Phila- delighted to see you all. The most important delphia had lost jobs for 30 years before Ed thing I can say is, thank you. I thank Joe Rendell became mayor, and now they’re gaining Andrew for his increasingly energetic leadership. jobs rapidly. They had lost population; they had [Laughter] had a crime rate going up—everything. Do you

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remember how the Vice President used to say all of you who stick with us through thick and in the ’92 campaign, everything that should be thin. up is down, everything that should be down I also want to say a word about the Vice is up? That was Philadelphia times five. Now President and Mrs. Gore. I have spent a lot everything that should be up is up, thanks to of time studying the history of our country and Ed Rendell, and he’s going to keep our party the institutions that have made it work. When up, as well. I became a candidate for President, Hillary and I want to thank Loretta Bowen and John I talked about a lot of things. I said, ‘‘I’ll tell Cooke and John Merrigan and Carol Pensky for you one thing I’m going to do. If I win this this dinner tonight. It was wonderful. And I nomination, I’m going to appoint somebody to want to thank my friend Walter Shorenstein. be my running mate that I would feel good You have already honored him, and you heard if I dropped dead, if something, God forbid, the Vice President talk about the big achieve- happened to me, that I am convinced would ments in his life. I think it is remarkable: He be a great President. And in the meanwhile, reflects, first, a characteristic I’ve seen in so I’m going to make it a real job.’’ many of you. You’ve been so phenomenally gen- You know that when Harry Truman became erous. Many of you in this room tonight could President, he did not even know about the be making more money in a short run under atomic bomb? A lot of people don’t know that. the other party’s policies. You know it as well Franklin Roosevelt had a lot of great qualities, as I do. And you came here because you believe but we had lost a lot of Presidents up to then, that we all ought to go forward together and and they were still just picking Vice Presidents that we ought to keep our eye on the long for the most sort of shallow political reasons. run, social justice and the long-term strength Thank God, Harry Truman turned out to be of America. And Walter has stood for that all a great man and a great President. of his life. He is also an uncommonly decent person. I’ll And then it got a little better. When John just tell you two things. First of all, not very Kennedy picked Lyndon Johnson, he was ready long ago I was out in Northern California, and for the job. When Dwight Eisenhower picked I had a day to kill, and I hadn’t seen my little Richard Nixon, he had broader responsibilities. girl in a long time. And it’s inconvenient for And then when Jimmy Carter picked Walter the President to go any place quietly. Walter Mondale, he qualitatively increased the role of had a place south of San Francisco; he let me the Vice President. And to his credit, President go there and spend the day with my daughter. Reagan followed his lead in giving more respon- That meant more to me than anything he could sibility to then-Vice-President Bush. But I want do for me. I’ll never forget it as long as I live. every person in this room to know that Al Gore And I’ll tell you something else. You heard has had, 2, 3, 4, 5, times as much responsibilities the Vice President say he helped to save the as any person who has ever held this office Giants. I was talking to Walter one night and and he has done a superb job discharging every I said, ‘‘You know, Walter, I think the greatest single one of them. baseball player that ever lived was Willie Mays.’’ You know, we’ve had a lot of fun together Next time I go to dinner at Walter’s house, over the years, and we kid each other merci- Willie Mays is there. [Laughter] And I might lessly. When Arkansas plays Tennessee, he usu- add, number 8 on ESPN’s list of the 50 greatest ally wins; sometimes I do. And he always says, athletes of the 20th century. Almost high ‘‘You know, the difference between you and enough. me,’’ he said to me, ‘‘is you don’t have a vote So this guy has never lost his sense of per- in Congress, and I do.’’ [Laughter] ‘‘At least, sonal things, which I think matter most to us every now and then I do. And whenever I vote, all when it’s all said and done. And I thank we win.’’ [Laughter] you for honoring him. I hope that all of you Well, we’re all celebrating this economy, but feel honored, to some extent, through him. he cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to Sometimes I think we take and take and take, make it a reality. And when we were fighting and we don’t take enough time to give and to pass commonsense gun legislation in the Sen- to say thank you. And I’m honored that we ate after Columbine, and all we wanted to do could do this for Walter and, through him, for was to apply the Brady background checks to

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the gun shows and the urban flea markets, re- gifts. I want to thank them for the family con- quire child trigger locks on the guns, he cast ference that they run every year in Tennessee, the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to pass it. that many of you have been a part of. What One day we were sitting around in one of they taught us about family leave and child care, our weekly lunches—which I miss now, as I health care for children, many other issues. And confessed in my press conference—he said, I want to thank her for forcing me to recognize ‘‘You know, we’ve got to do something about the woefully inadequate response that the peo- getting more computers into the schools, and ple of the United States have to the needs of not just a computer for their educational pro- mental health in this country, and taking a lead grams. We’ve got to hook them up to the Inter- and making us do better. net, and it will revolutionize educational oppor- I say this because this is a political dinner, tunities. But if we don’t do anything about it, but most of us are here—and we’re Democrats only wealthier schools will get it.’’ instead of Republicans because we’re motivated So he came up with this idea that the FCC, by these kinds of issues and because we think now that we’re revolutionizing telecommuni- America should go up or down together. And cations—something else he was the lead on our one way or the other, if we’re going up, we’ve administration when we rewrote the tele- got to go up together. And I honor them, and communications law for the first time in 60 I thank them for that. years, or he created 300,000 new high-wage jobs I will be very brief in what I want to say in America—he said, ‘‘We’ve got to give a dis- to you. There’s no point in my reciting what count to the poor schools, to the hospitals, to you already know about the progress of the last the libraries, so they can afford to hook on the 7 years. Except I will say that there is something Internet. And we need to try to get the business special about the fact that it was done by our community in. We’ve got this whole private sec- party, because we believe you can advance the tor group to come help us get the connections economy and social justice at the same time. done.’’ So it’s not just 20 million jobs and the longest Now, when we started this in 1994—it was peacetime expansion in history; in February it his idea—3 percent of the classrooms and 14 will be the longest one in history. Look under- percent of the schools were connected; most neath that: the lowest female unemployment in schools just had one connection in the library 40 years; the lowest single-parent household or something—1994, 3 percent of the class- poverty in 42 years; the lowest African-American rooms, 14 percent of the schools. Today, thanks unemployment and poverty ever recorded; the to him, over 50 percent of the classrooms in lowest Hispanic unemployment ever recorded, over 80 percent of the schools in America have the lowest Hispanic poverty in a generation; the an Internet connection. And I could go through last 3 years, finally people in the bottom of what he’s done in helping us to reduce the the income groups, with their income rising as nuclear threat and dealing with a whole wide fast or faster than those in the top. This is range of foreign challenges and the environ- a democratic recovery, and we’re going forward ment. We set aside 40 million roadless acres together. in our national forests not very long ago. This I want to say this about the next 14 months administration has now protected more land of my term and the decision the American peo- than any administration in the history of the ple will make about the leadership of this coun- United States, except those of Franklin and try, the Presidency and in the Congress for the Theodore Roosevelt, thanks to his leadership on next 4 years. Over Thanksgiving I had my whole the environment. extended family with me, and then we had a So what I want you to know is, he has been few friends come up to Camp David and a a good and faithful servant of the people of lot of kids around, and I just love that. this country. And he knows more than any per- And this beautiful little 6 year old girl looked son who has ever held that job. And he’s had at me, and she said, ‘‘Now, how old are you, more experience than anybody who’s run in my really’’—6 year old girl. [Laughter] And I said, lifetime that is relevant to this work. ‘‘I’m 53.’’ And she said, ‘‘That’s a lot.’’ [Laugh- The other thing I would like to say is, his ter] And lamentably, she’s right about that. And wife has given us, Hillary and me, personally, I want to say this, and I want every one of but our administration and this country, many you to think about it. In my lifetime, in my

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53 years, our country has never had the bless- Yes, you know, you can say whatever you want ings and the opportunities and, therefore, the to about how I say whatever I say about the responsibilities it has at this moment. We have Vice President. Everything I said was true, and never had at the same time a strong economy, I believe it. But I’m a lot more interested than an improving social climate, strong self-con- the whole country in our children and grand- fidence among the American people, with the children even than I am him. I’m sitting here absence of crisis at home or threat abroad. talking to you about whether we’re going to We had an economy that was very strong make the most of this prosperity. And I’ve been in the early sixties that came a cropper because here for 53 years. And like the kid said, that’s of the competing demands of civil rights and a lot. And we’ve never had this kind of chance poverty at home and the war in Vietnam abroad. before. You can go back all through the 20th century, Are we going to deal with the aging of Amer- and you will not find a time when we’ve had ica or not? We’re going to double the number prosperity, social progress, national self-con- of people over 65 in 30 years. I hope to be fidence, the absence of internal crisis or external one of them. We could take Social Security out threat. beyond the life of the baby boomers by doing And what I want to say to you is, that imposes one simple thing: Just take the interest we’re on our party not bragging rights for the last saving on the debt from not spending the Social 7 years but an enormous responsibility to keep Security surplus and put it into Social Security. the American people focused on the future. And we ought to do that. We can lengthen Anybody can take a deep breath and summon the life of Medicare; we can provide prescription themselves to great efforts in tough times. The drug benefits to the 75 percent of our seniors great British essayist Samuel Johnson said, who can’t afford the medicine that they need. ‘‘Nothing so concentrates the mind as the pros- We can radically improve our schools. We pect of one’s own destruction.’’ can deal with the challenge of global warming Every one of us can remember when times and all the other environmental challenges and were tough and we got right at it. But also, do it with new technology and smart investments most people can remember a time in your per- that will grow this economy faster, not weaken sonal life, your family life, your business life, it. We can extend economic opportunity to the when things were going so well, you just lost people and places that have been left behind. your concentration or became indulgent or got In spite of all the happy talk, unemployment distracted. This country faces a great choice tonight is 73 percent on the Pine Ridge Reserva- here. tion in South Dakota. I’m going home to the The Vice President talked about the tax cut Arkansas Delta tomorrow, right across the river that Congress passed that I vetoed. I was so from Memphis, where the Vice President spent proud of the American people because times countless days. And he can tell you that, except are good and people have been through tough for the Native American reservations, the poor- times. And a lot of people still have difficulties est parts of America are still in the Delta be- in their own lives, and they could have said, tween Memphis and New Orleans or in Appa- ‘‘Hey, give us a break here. Don’t tell me about lachia or in any number of our inner cities or paying off the debt for the first time since 1835 upstate New York, which would be 49th in job or this other rigamarole. Just show me the growth if that were a separate State, or the money.’’ rural areas of New England and any number But they didn’t do it. They said just what of other places. So I think we ought to give he said, that we like what we have and we people big incentives to invest there, the same want to go on. We want to leave a stronger incentives we give them to invest in poor areas America for our children. We want to get out in Latin America and Asia and Africa, to try of debt. We want to deal with the aging of to grow the American economy now in the America. We want to be able to invest in our places that have been left behind. children’s education. What I want to tell you— No, it’s not fashionable to talk about, because I think that’s what is at stake here: whether when I talk about trade, I make everybody mad. we will assume the responsibility of our success And he’s doing a pretty good job of it, too. or indulge ourselves and squander it. [Laughter] But let me just say, I think I’m right

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about saying that labor standards and the envi- tients’ Bill of Rights and on so many other ronment ought to be a part of the global econ- issues. So we have a lot of things to do. omy. And you know I’m pro-trade. I don’t think Now, I just want to make one last point. you can make a serious case that the world I’m going to keep working for the next 14 is not better off. And globalization is not a bad months, and I think the best thing I can do thing if you do it right. for all of our candidates, from top to bottom, You look at the places he mentioned. Do you is to try to be the best President I can be. really believe that we would have had to go And I’ll do my best to do that. And I am pro- to war in Kosovo and use our military power foundly committed to renting back the House in Bosnia to stop slaughter there if the Balkans and Senate because a lot of those people lost were the richest place in Europe, instead of their seats, a lot of those people lost their seats the poorest? Do you believe we would have because they voted for the economic plan and had 800,000 people slaughtered in 90 days in they voted for the Brady bill and they voted Rawanda in a tribal war if their incomes were for the assault weapons ban and they took the 10 times higher than they are? tough decisions. And unfortunately, they had to And I have to say—you mentioned Ireland. stand for reelection in 1994, before the Amer- I’m very proud of the role we played in the ican people knew we were right. And we owe Irish peace process. And I’m very proud of Sen- it to them. And besides that, I’ve got a minor interest in what happens in New York. [Laugh- ator George Mitchell. [Applause] But I want ter] to tell you something. You can clap for him. But let me say to all of you, if I had this But make no mistake about it, the fact that proverbial encounter tonight, and somebody some American banks were sending their data said, ‘‘Well, you can’t stay 14 months. You’ve processing to be done in Northern Ireland by got to go.’’ And the genie showed up and said poor people who didn’t have any other jobs, I could have not three wishes but one. It the fact that the Irish Republic had the fastest wouldn’t be anything I’ve said on this list. I growing economy in Europe, and all those would wish for an America that is truly one young people saw what was going on in the America, that can bridge the lines of race and rest of Europe, and they said, ‘‘This is nuts. gender and religion and sexual orientation, all Let’s let it go.’’ That had a lot to do with that. these things that divide us. So we have to find a way to put that human If you look around the world today—that’s face on the global economy. And we’ve got to why we’re going to try to pass the hate crimes decide who we trust to do it and how to get bill. That’s why we’re going to try to pass the there. employment and nondiscrimination act. Because Finally, there are lots of other things we could if you look at the world we’re living in at the talk about. We’ve got to be willing to take on end of the cold war, when people are not artifi- some difficult questions in the future. You know, cially bound into blocks where they feel threat- all that nice talk Al said to me about all these ened by their very existence, it was inevitable tough decisions that I had to make. When we that we’d have an upsurge of nationalism and first got together after the election he said, ‘‘You some of the things that have happened. know, I’ve spent a lot more time in Washington, But it is unconscionable that on the verge and I’m going to tell you, you can’t imagine of a new millennium, when there are 20,000 how hard these decisions are going to be. And people making a living on eBay trading, when it’s just like developing muscles; it’s going to we’re about to decode the whole mystery of be agonizing for you at the beginning, and the human genome, when some people think you’ve just got to grit your teeth and make we’ll find out what’s in the black holes in space them, and it will get easier and easier and easi- in a few years, it is unconscionable that the er.’’ biggest problem society faces is the oldest prob- And like so many things he told me, it turned lem of society, which is that we’re afraid of, out to be right. But it was a lot easier because prone to hate, prone to dehumanize, and prone he was there with me, helping me. He was to brutalize people who are different from us. right when we took on guns. He was right when There is so much hope around the world. we took on big tobacco. He was right when I announced yesterday the resumption of talks we took on the health care industry on the Pa- next week between the Israelis and the Syrians.

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I know they’re working hard to make peace ate and the House is that we may never have between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We this chance again. And we have to make the even have the Greeks and the Turks talking most of it. And we owe it to the American about Cyprus. We’ve got all kinds of things people to get out there and get our message going. out, stand up, fight, show up for them every And for all of the hate crimes and terrible day. Never forget that the people we’re really things that have happened in America, we’re fighting for are the people that served our food not bedeviled like that, but it’s still there under here tonight and their children. And countless the surface. One of our major newspapers today other people who will never have a chance to had two breathtaking pictures, side-by-side, on come to an event like this. the front page of the young soldier that was And I’m telling you, if you do what you know beaten to death and the other young soldier to do next year and you tell people what the that was convicted of killing him. He was beaten record is and what we stand for, then we’ll to death because he was gay. have a great 14 months, and we’ll have a great And you know, I’m not running for anything; celebration in November of 2000. I’m just telling you I felt as a human being. Thank you, and God bless you. I looked at that and my heart ached for that young man whose life was extinguished. Then my heart ached for the young man whose life NOTE: The President spoke at 8:30 p.m. in the was ruined, because somewhere along the way Grand Ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. people taught him—you’re not born feeling this In his remarks, he referred to Joseph J. Andrew, way—people taught him that it was okay to de- national chair, and Mayor Edward G. Rendell of humanize that other young person, who wore Philadelphia, general chair, Democratic National the uniform of his country. Both of them have Committee; dinner cochairs Loretta Bowen, di- committed to die for this country if I send them rector of political affairs, Communications Work- some place, God forbid, which might cost them ers of America, John F. Cooke, president, the Dis- their lives. And yet, that happened. ney Channel, Carol Pensky, former treasurer, So I say to you, not to bring you down but Democratic National Committee, and John to lift you up, the reason I am working as hard Merrigan, cochair, Democratic Business Council; as I can to be a good President, the reason Walter Shorenstein, president, Shorenstein Com- I’m here with you, besides to thank you, the pany LP; and former Senator George J. Mitchell, reason I feel as strongly as I do about the Vice who chaired the multiparty talks in Northern Ire- President and all of our campaigns for the Sen- land.

Remarks to the Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock, Arkansas December 10, 1999

Thank you. Thank you very much, ladies and morning by Secretary Riley, the Secretary of gentlemen. Thank you, Shelby; and thank you, Education, from Washington, and Rodney Joe, for your leadership. They’ve both been Slater, the Secretary of Transportation. I thank friends of mine a long time, and it’s good to them for coming with me. see this chamber so well led. And thank you, I want to thank you for this award. Herschel Joe, for your pledge of support. Friday was a friend of mine. I was sitting here, Congratulations to Bob and to Beverly on the racing through my mind, over all the things well-deserved award. I’m delighted to be up he asked me to do over the 12 years I was here with Dr. Reed and Jesse and Janet, and Governor, all the time there was one more to be here with all of you. I thank Senator emergency at Oak Lawn Park, which he and Pryor and Congressman Snyder for joining me, I had a vested interest in. I don’t know if Beth and Mayor Dailey. I think our speaker, Bob Friday is here, but I want to thank them both Johnson, is here, and I was accompanied this for their friendship, and thank you for this

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