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REMARKS BY: TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: National League of Cities Congressional City Conference DATE: March 11, 2001
Thank you Mayor (Karen) Anderson for that introduction. I appreciate your invitation to come speak to the National League of Cities today.
And Mayor Archer what an honor it is for me to follow a man of your quality. I have long known of your work that your accomplishments in Detroit. And I would like to congratulate you on being elected President of the National League of Cities, and also for being honored by Governing magazine as one of America's "Public Officials of the Year." You are an honorable public servant and I am privileged to share the stage with you.
It is so good to be here today with so many people from all across the country, and I know that there are some from my home state of Wisconsin in the room. I was glad to see my good friend Marvin Pratt from the Milwaukee City Council as I came in- I am always so pleased to see my fellow Wisconsinites wherever I go.
I appreciate the fact that community leaders like you recognize the importance to come together to discuss important issues that we all face. From the small towns to the large cities, it is critical to gather like this on a regular basis to talk about what works, what doesn't work, and what can be changed, or fixed, and what needs to be scrapped altogether.
I grew up in the small town of Elroy, Wisconsin. Elroy is so small that you could call somebody- get a wrong number- and still talk for half-an-hour.
My father owned a grocery store where all the local leaders would gather on Friday evenings and try to solve the community's problems. And I would sit and listen - soak it all in. It was at my father's side that I learned the importance of local government. You are the people at the front lines- those closest to the people. And you have a very tough job.
I've been in public service for 35 years. But I am still full of optimism, idealism, and hope.qualities that I bring from that small town.My parents and the good people of Elroy instilled in me the importance of putting people first. That's why I have dedicated my life to public service.
I'm sure that many of you have stories too, about why you are here.the road you traveled to get here.and at what point it was that you decided to become a public servant. We are all bound together, I believe, in the hope that we as servants of the people, can somehow change and better people's lives, and improve the communities that we all come from. I am proud to join you in that quest.
We need to work together to solve the tough problems facing our society. President Bush recognizes the important role that local governments play, and he is committed to a partnership and that commitment is reflected in his first budget. Clearly, he is reaching his hand out to cities and local governments and the states. And it is a helping hand - a hand up - a hand of partnership.
I know how beneficial a successful partnership can be between the federal and state and local levels. I served in the Wisconsin Assembly for twenty years, before becoming governor in 1986. I learned a lot of lessons during that time. Lessons that have prepared me for the challenges that I have faced since.
I really enjoyed serving the people of the state of Wisconsin as their governor. And I tell you that it was a tough decision to leave the best job in America to come to Washington. But when President George W. Bush asked me to serve him as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, I was honored at the call and humbled at the calling. But I knew that as Secretary I had a real chance to help people. I have a passion for the health and welfare of our fellow citizens, and I am so happy to be serving in this capacity.
President Bush has outlined an aggressive agenda for his administration and for the Department of Health and Human Services. So many of the issues and initiatives that are important to President Bush and to the American people will be funneled through our Department. It's a tremendous responsibility. With over 65,000 employees and a budget of over $475 billion, the Department of Health and Human Services is the largest agency in the federal government.in fact, if HHS were a country, its budget would be the sixth largest in the world.
Among our most important responsibilities is improving the health care safety net for all Americans. Currently, there are 43 million uninsured Americans- and this is simply unacceptable. In a nation as compassionate as ours- we need to find ways to provide access to affordable health care for all Americans- this isn't just responsible leadership.or government..it's responsible citizenship.
President Bush's budget helps low-income families receive health insurance by providing tax incentives. It also increases funding for Community Health Centers in cities across the country.
Just this past Monday I was back in Wisconsin.in Milwaukee.at the 16th Street Community Health Center. They do such a great job there, as do so many community health centers all over the United States. Currently there are 3,200 centers that serve about 11 million patients. The president has offered to increase funding for these centers by $124 million this year. This is just a first installment on a promise to communities. He wants to increase the number of centers by 1,200 and double the number of patients served by 2006. This is a tremendous goal, and an important one.
These centers provide care and medical guidance in a culturally sensitive atmosphere with physicians and nurses and other health care professionals that understand the needs of the community and understand the values of the people they treat.
To combat the growing problem of substance abuse, President Bush has proposed to increase funding for block grants and other programs by $111 million to increase the availability of substance abuse treatment services.
In addition, under the president's budget the Department of Health and Human Services will allocate $400 million to promote the comprehensive health care for women and children through the Health Communities Innovation Fund Initiative, and add a new $400 million program to provide states with grants to help parents obtain after-school child care with a high quality education focus.
We also have some other priorities at the Department of Health and Human Services.
We must ensure that we do not miss this opportunity for fundamental Medicare reform. We will modernize Medicare so it is responsive, effective, and financially sound for today's.and tomorrow's.senior citizens.
As part of that effort, the president has offered the Immediate Helping Hand initiative to provide the neediest seniors and the disabled affordable access to prescription drugs.
I think that everyone agrees that there are problems with our health care system in the United States. Now we need to work across the partisan divide that has separated this city. We must abandon the rhetoric and not draw rigid lines in the sand. We must talk frankly and work together for the common good.
As John F. Kennedy said, "the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."
Ladies and gentlemen, we must act now to repair our roof.
For too long the federal government has believed that it had all the answers- but as local representatives, you know, that the federal government doesn't even know all the questions.
Too often, the federal government neglects to look to states and local governments for answers.where truly innovative programs are born and are taking hold.
The innovative thinking of our nation's state and local leaders, led the way in setting the national agenda throughout the `90s, finding creative solutions to society's most vexing problems..from welfare reform to health care reform.
And when the federal government joined us in this partnership, look what was accomplished.together.poverty rolls are down, crime rates are down and welfare rolls have been cut by more than half across the nation. People are working, bringing home a paycheck, supporting their families, and earning some pride and respect.
And I know that we can help even more people succeed.But in order to do that we need to work together as partners, between the different levels of government.
Instead of more federal regulations and a deeper thicket of bureaucracy. President Bush and we, at the Department of Health and Human Services, seek to work with states and local governments and private enterprise to develop bold and innovative solutions.Won't you help me?
I know that you will..
I read an Associated Press article this week, where one of your own, Mayor Ken Barr from Fort Worth, Texas, said that you believe that there must be support for local governments to make local decisions. He said that the federal government should help to row the boat, but the local government should steer it.
I recognize that the people in this room are the closest to the people that we are trying to serve. You are the front lines providing the services that we fund. You know your citizens' needs better than we ever could. You are their friends and their neighbors. You go to the PTA meetings with them, you coach baseball together. You see them on a daily basis, we.too often.see them as a number or another statistic.
Mayor Barr from Fort Worth, Texas.I am here to tell you.that if you will steer that boat.and make sure that the money that we send is used effectively.not only will we help row the boat.but I will personally stick a super-charged racing motor to the back of it.
We need your hard work and we need to invest in a federal-state-local government partnership. It's the only way this can work.
President Bush has signed a directive to promote federalism. It says that we in the federal government are to empower states and local governments whenever possible. We need to give you the resources to positively affect your local citizens- but we shouldn't micro-manage.
We will, of course, expect that the money is being well spent and standards are being met. But we trust you to make the decisions on how best to help the people in your cities.
In reviewing the National League of Cities' report Six Critical Threats Facing American Cities, I think that it should serve as a wake-up call to local, state, and federal legislators. Your priorities outline a need of concern that we must tackle together in order to leave our cities and towns a better place.
As you can tell by my remarks today- our priorities are very similar- and I am excited about working with everyone in this room. I have an open door policy and I want to hear your suggestions and comments. I want you to tell me what you think is working and what you think is not working. We are in this together.
I know the common challenges that as public servants.as elected and appointed officials.we all face. President Teddy Roosevelt talked about our duty as an "arena."
He said, "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
I am proud to be in the arena with the great leaders of our cities here today. And I look forward to working with you to help all Americans see a brighter tomorrow.
Thank you and God bless.
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