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The President’s Radio Address ability we have brought to other education programs. January 19, 2002 This reform effort began Tuesday, when Education Secretary Rod Paige convened the Good morning. On Monday, communities first meeting of the new Presidential Com- across America will celebrate the life and leg- mission on Excellence in Special Education. acy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Laura will This distinguished and diverse group, chaired visit Atlanta to commemorate the day in Dr. by former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, has a King’s hometown. I will welcome Dr. King’s clear mission, to propose reforms that will family to the White House. This year’s ob- make special education an integral part of servance is an opportunity to celebrate the an education system that expects all children contributions of Dr. King and honor the prin- to reach their full potential. ciples for which he lived and died. We must have high expectations for chil- Americans can proudly say that we have dren who are more difficult to teach or who overcome the institutionalized bigotry that have fallen behind. Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. King fought. Now our challenge is to Jr. would accept no less than an equal con- make sure that every child has a fair chance cern for every child in America, and neither to succeed in life. That is why education is will my administration. the great civil rights issue of our time. Thank you for listening. So my administration worked with Repub- licans and Democrats to enact into law the NOTE: The address was recorded at 1:32 p.m. on most far-reaching educational reform in a January 18 in the Cabinet Room at the White generation. We are insisting on high stand- House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 19. In his remarks, the President referred to Title I ards for all our children. We’re putting a new of the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 emphasis on reading as the first step toward (Public Law 103–382), which amended Title I of achievement. We’re offering teachers new the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of training, and States and localities new flexi- 1965 (Public Law 89–10); and the Individuals with bility. And we’re going to measure and test Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 94–142). how everyone is doing in our new account- The transcript was made available by the Office ability system, so we can get help to children of the Press Secretary on January 18 but was em- before it is too late. bargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish lan- We have a special obligation to disadvan- guage transcript of this address. taged children to close the achievement gap in our Nation. In my next budget, I will pro- pose an increase of $1 billion for the Federal Remarks at a Martin Luther King, program that aids disadvantaged school- Jr., Holiday Celebration children. That’s on top of the 18 percent in- January 21, 2002 crease in last year’s budget. In fact, Federal spending on Title I will increase just about Well, thank you all very much for coming. as much in the first 2 years of my administra- Mrs. King, thanks for this beautiful portrait. tion as it did in all the previous 8 years com- I can’t wait to hang it. [Laughter] bined. I hope Congress will approve this re- I want to welcome you all to the White quest. House. We’ve gathered in tribute to Dr. At the same time as we fund Title I, we’re Martin Luther King, Jr., to the ideals he held giving extra help to children with special and the life he lived. We remember a man needs. The Federal program for special who brought much good into the world by needs children was established by the law the power of his voice and the truth of his known as IDEA, the Individuals with Dis- words. abilities Education Act. My 2003 budget re- For some of you here this afternoon, Dr. quests an additional $1 billion for IDEA, as King was and is a special part of your life well, an important increase. But we want as a colleague and a friend and a brother. these new dollars to carry to special edu- Four call him ‘‘Dad,’’ and we are pleased that cation the same spirit of reform and account- two of his children are here with us today.

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We welcome Bernice and Martin Luther Yet, he was not one to claim credit for him- King III. I know your dad would be incred- self. The civil rights law, he said, was first ibly proud of you. I also welcome Christine written in the streets by many thousands of King Farris, Dr. King’s sister. Alveda King, black citizens and others who shared their Isaac Farris, Jr., Arthur Bagley, and Arturo goals. Their movement rose from generations Bagley, family members, are here as well. of bitter experience, the slights, the cruelties, Thank you all for coming. And of course, the pervasive wrongs that marked the lives we’re honored to be in the presence of such of many black Americans. a distinguished and delightful lady, Coretta As a small boy, Martin had seen his father, Scott King. a gifted and learned man, retain great dignity I appreciate Secretary Rod Paige for being while being insulted, ordered about, and spo- here. In honor of Dr. King, the Department ken down to. ‘‘I don’t care how long I have of Education will soon announce the Martin to live with this system,’’ said Martin Luther Luther King, Jr., scholars program to prom- King, Sr., ‘‘I will never accept it.’’ The son ising students all across America. would not accept it either. Years afterwards, I appreciate all the members of my team he related the story of going to the back of who are here, in particular, Condoleezza the bus, day after day, putting his mind up Rice, the National Security Adviser. Thank in the front seat. He told himself, ‘‘One of you for coming, Condi. It’s good to see the these days I’m going to put my body where Mayor. Mr. Mayor and the first lady, Diane, my mind is.’’ are with us today. Thank you all for coming. In time, he did so, as did others, some The Mayor is a good man. I can assure you, of whose names are also honored in our his- Mr. Mayor, we paid our property taxes. tory. Along the way, he was beaten and [Laughter] stabbed, jailed, and came close to losing his I appreciate so many members of the dip- wife and baby daughter when their house was lomatic corps for being here. Ambassadors bombed. At a certain point, even a strong from all across the world are here to say hello man might have yielded. Dr. King never did, to Mrs. King and her family. And thank you and he never gave up on his country. He all for coming to pay honor to such a great believed that whatever one would change, American. Thank you very much. one must first love—and he loved America. On a summer night in 1964, right here in His most powerful arguments were unan- the East Room, President Lyndon Baines swerable, for they were the very words and Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and principles of our Declaration and Constitu- handed a pen to Martin Luther King, Jr. The tion. When he came to this Capital City and law marked a true turning point in the life stood before the figure of the Great Emanci- of our country. As Dr. King put it, ‘‘The Civil pator, it was not to assail or threaten. He Rights Act was the end of a century of slum- had come to hold this Nation to its own ber.’’ More laws would be needed, and more standards, to live out the true meaning of would follow. But on that day, our Federal its creed. Government accepted the duty of securing We see Martin Luther King in many ways. freedom and justice for every American. Perhaps, above all, we should see him as a Standing in the White House, marking a minister of the gospel. He said, ‘‘I decided national holiday in Dr. King’s memory, we early to give my life to something eternal and are now two generations and a world away absolute, not to these little gods that are here from Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, today and gone tomorrow but to God, who as he knew them. It would be easy to forget is the same yesterday, today, and forever.’’ the great obstacles he overcame and the That faith gave Dr. King the grace to for- years of effort and the daily courage that give and the strength to love. He refused to turned a cause into a movement. Perhaps answer hatred with hatred or meet violence without Martin Luther King, there might still with violence. He appealed not to resent- have been a Civil Rights Act. There’s no ment but to reason, not to anger but to con- doubting that the law came as it did, when science. He was on this Earth just 39 years. it did, because of him. On the last night of his life, he did seem

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to sense that grave danger was lying in wait. gress is kept fully informed on continued But he trusted in the ways of providence, U.S. contributions in support of peace- not fearing any man, certain that no man keeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia. could ever finally prevent the purposes of Al- The U.N. Security Council authorized mighty God. Member States to continue SFOR for a pe- ‘‘Here on all the roads of life,’’ said Dr. riod of 12 months in U.N. Security Council King in a sermon, ‘‘God is striving in our Resolution 1357 of June 21, 2001. The mis- striving. As we struggle to defeat the forces sion of SFOR is to provide a focused military of evil, the God of the universe struggles with presence in order to deter hostilities, sta- us. Evil dies on the seashore, not merely be- bilize, and consolidate the peace in Bosnia cause of man’s endless struggle against it but and Herzegovina, contribute to a secure en- because of God’s power to defeat it.’’ Martin vironment, and provide, within its means and Luther King, Jr., lived in that belief and died capabilities, selective support to key areas in that belief. and key civil implementation organizations. Some figures in history, renowned in their The U.S. force contribution to SFOR in day, grow smaller with the passing of time. Bosnia and Herzegovina is approximately The man from Atlanta, Georgia, only grows 3,100 personnel. United States personnel larger with the years. America is a better comprise just under 18 percent of the total place because he was here, and we will honor SFOR force of approximately 17,500 per- his name forever. sonnel. During the last half of 2001, 19 It is now my honor to sign the proclama- NATO nations and 17 others, including Rus- tion. sia, provided military personnel or other sup- port to SFOR. Most U.S. forces in Bosnia NOTE: The President spoke at 4:12 p.m. in the and Herzegovina are assigned to Multi- East Room at the White House. In his remarks, national Division, North, centered in the city he referred to Coretta Scott King, widow of Mar- tin Luther King, Jr.; and their children Bernice of Tuzla. Other U.S. military personnel are King and Martin Luther King III; Alveda King deployed to other countries in the region in and Isaac Farris, Jr., niece and nephew of Dr. support of SFOR. These deployments in- King; and Mayor Anthony A. Williams of the Dis- clude approximately 50 U.S. military per- trict of Columbia and his wife, Diane. sonnel presently deployed to Hungary and Croatia in order to provide logistical and other support. The U.S. forces continue to Letter to Congressional Leaders support SFOR efforts to apprehend persons Reporting on Continued Operations indicted for war crimes. In the last 6 months, of United States Forces in Bosnia and U.S. forces have not sustained any combat- Herzegovina related fatalities. January 21, 2002 I have directed the participation of U.S. Armed Forces in these operations pursuant Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) to my constitutional authority to conduct In my report to the Congress of July 24, U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in 2001, I provided information on the deploy- Chief and Chief Executive. ment of combat-equipped U.S. Armed I am providing this report as part of my Forces to Bosnia and Herzegovina and other efforts to keep the Congress fully informed states in the region in order to participate about developments in Bosnia and in and support the North Atlantic Treaty Or- Herzegovina and other states in the region. ganization (NATO)-led Stabilization Force I will continue to consult closely with the (SFOR). The SFOR began its mission and Congress regarding our efforts to foster assumed authority from the NATO-led Im- peace and stability in the former Yugoslavia. plementation Force on December 20, 1996. Sincerely, I am providing this supplemental report, George W. Bush based upon information provided to me and consistent with the War Powers Resolution NOTE: Identical letters were sent to J. Dennis (P.L. 93–148), to help ensure that the Con- Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives,

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