This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
REMARKS BY: DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council St. Louis, MO DATE: February 12, 1996
I'm very pleased to have this opportunity to come to America's heartland to talk about America's future. And, I am even more honored to engage in that dialogue with leaders who -- every day, individually and collectively -- are repairing lives, restoring hope, and ensuring justice.
As you know, I come from a city that gets beat up on quite a bit. Politicians condemn it. Comedians ridicule it. And, even Cabinet Secretaries have been known at times to express their frustrations with our nation's Capital.
But Washington has its moments and places of beauty. One of them is the Lincoln Memorial -- where the brooding, but loving President Lincoln looks out over the country he saved, surrounded by the words that save us still: "...We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."
I mention Lincoln because today we celebrate his birthday. And I mention Lincoln, because, he was the first American president to be stolen away by an assassin's bullet. And now, to our international horror, that tragedy has been repeated in Israel.
President Lincoln and Prime Minister Rabin: both, men of incomparable intelligence and moral stature. Both fought wars to win. And, in the end, both laid down their lives in the name of unity and peace.
Lincoln and Rabin: both fought for a world without bondage -- of either the body or the spirit. Both knew, in Lincoln's words, that "a house divided against itself cannot stand." And, both brought people together across lines of division and hatred -- both in life and in death.
When President Lincoln's casket was taken by train back to Springfield, Illinois, millions of Americans lined the tracks to say goodbye. And when Prime Minister Rabin was laid to rest in Jerusalem, the entire world watched and mourned.
Leaders from around the globe spoke about this noble warrior turned peacemaker. But no speaker at the funeral got quite the attention of the Prime Minister's granddaughter. In her eulogy, Noa said of her grandfather, "Your appreciation and your love accompanied us every step down the road, and our lives were always shaped by your values"
What were those values she learned from her grandfather? The values Prime Minister Rabin taught his family and his nation, the values he died for, are the long Jewish tradition of charity, righteousness and community.
Those values pervade Halachah -- Jewish law including the Oral Tradition. Those values are the basis of English common law, and even American constitutional law. And, those values held the Jewish people together through the Inquisition, pogroms, the Holocaust, and 2000 years of exile.
Through disaster and disease, through Europe and Asia, there were always standards for the weakest in the communities -- caring for the sick, healing for the wounded and food for the hungry.
Can we as a country do any less today?
Like Prime Minister Rabin and President Lincoln, we live in an era characterized by great possibilities -- with revolutions in technology, science, and information beckoning us towards the 21st century. But, like Rabin and Lincoln, our time also brings us to a crossroads -- with deep divisions about how to move forward to reach our common goals.
Make no mistake about it: This historic American debate about the role of the federal government is about much more than budgets and block grants, deficits and devolution.
At its heart, this is a debate about what we stand for. It's about who we are as Americans. It's about whether there will be laws of the land -- not just laws of the states -- but national laws that apply to everyone -- national standards. And, as we peer into the next century, this debate is about what kind of legacy we want to leave for our children.
Because, before I finish this speech, there will be more than 200 children born in communities throughout this country. The question is, what will their futures hold?
Will their families have access to health care -- no matter where they live or how they live? Will they be able to break the chains of discrimination -- no matter where they live or how they live? Will they be free from the fear of domestic violence -- no matter where they live or how they live? They must.
We fought a Civil War -- arguing that being an American meant having certain inalienable rights. If we are to be one great nation -- then justice -- fundamental justice -- must not depend upon geography.
From Jews to Catholics, from African Americans to Arab Americans, throughout our history, members of minority groups have understood this point better than anyone: There must be laws of the land -- national standards that protect all Americans and weave us into one community -- each of us our brother's and our sister's keepers.
Let me be clear: I'm not talking about a stale defense of the status quo. Together, we must reject ideologues on all sides -- from those who think there's a program for every problem to those who think that government is the only problem.
Yes, we must balance the budget in seven years. And yes we must shift responsibility to the states and local communities. But, we must hold them firmly accountable. Again, we must shift responsibility to the states and local communities.
But, as the President has said time and time again: We can do that without slashing funding for Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. We can do that -- we can balance the budget and find common ground -- without turning our backs on everything this country stands for -- and we must.
In meeting today's challenges for tomorrow's children, we must do it with unity -- not division; with the heart of Abel -- not the mark of Cain; and by keeping our word -- not breaking our promise.
Our first challenge, I believe, is how to work with parents to guide our young people and keep families together.
Woven deep into the fabric of Tzedakah is the interdependence of individual and community responsibility. It's the idea that the greatest gifts we can give our families are the tools they need to not only survive -- but thrive -- on their own. And, it's the idea of providing opportunity, but demanding responsibility in return.
From our youth agenda to welfare reform, that's exactly what we're working to do.
That means fighting for an historic tobacco initiative that ensures that our young people get information about smoking from their parents and other caring adults -- not from Joe Camel.
It means fighting for safer communities -- with the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Act -- the first two curbs on gun violence to be enacted in more than 25 years!
It means supporting a national campaign against teen pregnancy that teaches young people to negotiate their friendships and say "no" to premarital sex and pregnancy and "yes" to their educations and their futures.
It means strengthening -- not slashing -- National Service and Student Loans -- twin engines that help young people study their way into the American Dream.
And, it means working with parents, businesses, schools, religious and civic organizations, and the media to counteract all the dangerous messages that our children hear, like: "Drugs are cool." "A Gun will get you respect." "Everybody is having sex."
Together we must help parents provide their children with the compasses and the resilience they will need to bypass the dangerous minefields -- like drugs, tobacco, AIDS, and teen pregnancy -- and make safe passages into young adulthood.
But, that is not enough.
I've visited child care centers and Head Start classrooms. I've seen the tragedy of crack addicted babies and the elation of college graduates. But, there's one thing I've never seen: young people who don't need caring adults -- especially parents -- in their lives.
The best safety net for America's children is -- and will always be -- parents who want them and can take care of them. And, everything that we do must begin and end with that fact.
That's why President Clinton expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit -- to ensure that working families don't ever have to raise their children in poverty.
That's why he wants to raise the minimum wage to make it a living wage.
That's why, after seven years of Republican inaction, this President signed the Family and Medical Leave Act -- so that no American will ever have to make the choice between the health of their family and the security of their job.
That's why he's fought to ensure that all children get the right start in life -- with better, stronger Head Start and child care.
And, that's why he's strengthened child support enforcement -- increasing collections from about $7 billion in 1991 to almost $11 billion today.
While others continue to talk and talk, we've granted waivers to 37 states that are experimenting with welfare plans to invest in child care, require work, reward marriage, and crack down on deadbeat parents who try to walk away from their obligations to their families and their children.
This Administration has -- and will continue -- to fight for real welfare reform.
But, let me be clear: It's not real welfare reform unless it combines tough work requirements with the resources for child care that women need to keep their children safe while they move to independence.
It's not real welfare reform unless it empowers people to be good parents and good workers.
It's not real welfare reform if it punishes innocent children for their parents' past mistakes.
It's not welfare reform unless it builds upon our success in child support enforcement -- and ensures that both parents take financial responsibility for the children they bring into this world.
It's not real welfare reform unless it helps people not only get jobs -- but keep them.
And, it's not welfare reform if it simply tells teenage mothers to sink or swim. Instead, we need to throw them a lifejacket -- and demand that they stay in school, live at home or with a responsible adult, and give their children a better life.
That's the right way -- the smart way -- the fair way -- to change welfare as we know it.
At the same time, we cannot create strong families unless women and children are safe -- especially in their own homes.
It shouldn't take a high profile court case to wake up America about the terror and tears caused by domestic violence. About the tragedy of women bruised and beaten. About the calls for help that are made too late. And, about the emotional scars that stay with children for a lifetime.
The Europeans have a slogan for their domestic violence campaign -- which is, "We all have a right to be safe all of the time." Listen very carefully to these words: "All of the time."
That is our challenge -- to make America's homes and neighborhoods safe -- all of the time. And, that's exactly what we're working to do. With tougher penalties for abusers. Better training for police, prosecutors, and judges. More community policing. And, before the end of this month, a national hotline that will operate 24 hours a day -- every day of the year.
Our second challenge is to make health care available to every American.
While some in Congress continue to debate and delay, over the last two years, more than one million Americans in working families have lost their health insurance.
For the family struggling to make ends meet, for the person living with AIDS fearful that she will lose her health insurance, for the elderly woman living in a nursing home -- there is no security without health security -- and we must never, ever forget that.
We must start by enacting a bipartisan bill -- introduced by Senator Kennedy and Senator Kassebaum -- that would wave good-bye to the days when insurance companies could drop you when you switched jobs or deny you coverage for pre-existing conditions.
But, that is not all we must do.
In America, the promises of Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security have transformed what it means to grow old in America. They have transformed what it means to be a poor child in America. They have transformed what it means to be disabled in America. And, we cannot ever turn our backs on those contracts with our people.
I'm not saying that our health care programs don't need major reform -- they do.
In the last three years, we lowered the growth of Medicare and Medicaid by more than $200 billion; rigorously enforced nursing home standards; expanded health care options for seniors; gave 12 states waivers to let them expand coverage and move toward managed care; and saved $15 billion by cracking down big time on health care fraud and abuse.
The question is, will we keep moving forward, replenishing the Medicare Trust Fund, making Medicare and Medicaid more efficient and effective -- or will we go backwards?
We believe we cannot go back.
We cannot go back to the days when older Americans had to choose between paying the heating bills and the doctor's bills.
We cannot go back to the days when middle-class families had to choose between paying their parents' nursing home bills and their children's college bills.
We cannot go back to the days when the poor and the disabled were simply left to fall through the nets of charity.
Let me be clear: We can and must maintain our guarantee of health care for our most vulnerable Americans -- for poor children, the elderly, the disabled -- whether they live in Seattle or Savannah.
We must insist that health insurance is there for people when they really need it -- when they switch jobs or lose jobs or get sick. It is time to relegate the term "pre-existing condition" to the chronicles of history!
We must strengthen Meals on Wheels and other lifelines older Americans need to stay independent in their own communities.
We must ensure that our seniors -- who built this country with their sweat and sacrifice -- are not forced to pay more and get less for health care.
And, we must never ever privatize Social Security!
We can do no less -- and we must do no less.
Finally, as we fight for freedom abroad, we must ensure justice and fairness at home. Such is the mandate of NJCRAC -- and such is the legacy of the Jewish community.
From the freedom riders who traveled south with their African American brothers and sisters to the leaders today standing up and speaking out against all discrimination, this community has always understood that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
But, you have also understood that lasting victories are never won by one community -- Jewish or women, African American or Latino -- acting alone.
We only win when we stand together as one America -- across the lines of race, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
And, that's how we must stand today:
United to fight forced prayer in public schools.
United to protect gays and lesbians against workplace discrimination.
United to fight policies that would throw people out of the military just because they have HIV/AIDS.
United to maintain vital funding for refugee resettlement. We need fair immigration and refugee policies that reunite families, protect refugees and value the critical role that legal immigrants play in the multicultural tapestry that we call America.
United to protect a woman's right to choose -- and make abortion safe, legal, and rare.
United to create real opportunity -- to mend, not end, affirmative action.
United to stand up and speak out against bigotry and Hate Crimes -- more than violations of individuals and groups, they are crimes against all of us.
But as you know better than anyone, from welfare reform to health care reform, and from building strong families to eradicating discrimination, these challenges will never be met by the government or non-profits acting alone.
I am reminded of the wisdom of Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin, who in the 18th century taught the following: "A man once saw a precious object very high up. Wanting to fetch it down he asked a number of people to make a `tower' so that the topmost person could reach for the object. Supposing one of them, the lowest, for instance, had said, `What's the point of my being here? After all, I'll never reach up so high in any case!' and so saying, had jumped aside. His action would have been extremely foolish and would have endangered the lives of others. We are all equally necessary -- if so much as one person fails, the whole will not reach the desired goal."
As all of us work in our communities: preventing youth violence, offering a warm shoulder for battered women or a hand-up to the homeless; and as we work to reform, not ruin government, to say good-bye to the status quo without abdicating our responsibility to national standards, we must remember that these battles will only be won when every single citizen stands on each other's shoulders -- linking the past and the present so that we can reach the future together.
It will not be easy, but as Elie Wiesel wrote in his recent Memoirs, "In my dreams, the impossible is not a Jewish concept." Doing the impossible today will take the same vision and moral strength that Prime Minister Rabin and President Lincoln brought to their tasks.
But, if this country had the courage to repair its wounds after the Civil War -- and if the people of Israel had the courage to lay down their weapons of war and reach out their hands in peace, then surely all of us can gather the courage to create a 21st century America that is a great country -- because it is good.
Thank you.