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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		First Years are Forever Business Leadership Press Conference, New York, New York
DATE:		July 14, 1998

And thank you Rob, for your gift for making people laugh and cry and think . but most of all, for your true devotion to children.

Anybody who believes there are only "A Few Good Men" in Hollywood should know that Rob Reiner is one of the best.

And in my Department's work to promote early childhood development, I am proud to have Rob Reiner to "Stand by Me."

Like a great film, a child's life touches us all -- and gives us hope.

As Carl Sandburg said, "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on."

In babies we also see a great responsibility -- as the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child says, "Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give."

What is the best we have to give?

Science and instinct tell us babies need loving homes. Loving hearts. Loving hands. Which most parents give freely and naturally.

But we're here to say the challenge of raising healthy children is not just "All in the Family."

It's also in our communities. In our child care providers. In our corridors of government. And yes -- in our places of commerce.

As the Council for Economic Development has told us for many years, the business of raising healthy children is everybody's business -- not just parents.

It's even more true today, with more parents working outside the home.

So we're here to emphasize that kitchen-table issues for families are bottom-line issues for business.

Savvy business leaders know family-friendly policies pay off in higher productivity, higher profits, higher employee morale -- all in all, a better work force.

But I'm also here to emphasize that the business community is just one sector of America responsible for family-friendly policies.

The nation must invest in our children's future. Because children are the future of our nation.

President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton know what's at stake. That's why the First Family has always put families first.

And someday we'll look back on the Clinton Administration as the Children's Administration -- for all it has done so far to help working parents raise healthy families.

In fact, this is a great time to be a child in America.

Tomorrow, the federal government will release a report on the well-being of America's 70 million children. There is good news.

Children are off to a healthier start. In the past five years, infant mortality has reached an all-time low. More children are surviving their first year than ever.

And childhood immunization rates have reached an all-time high, as vaccine- preventable diseases have reached an all-time low.

We're also seeing a dramatic decline in teenage pregnancies, as young people are getting our message to protect themselves and their futures.

We've also enrolled more children in Head Start and Early Head Start than ever before.

We're extending health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured children of working families.

We've also taken steps to help working families ease their child care worries -- such as helping poor families afford child care . and helping the States improve quality and safety standards.

And we're also reaching out to the private sector to help with child care -- like this Business Forum is doing today.

Recently the President asked his Cabinet to look at child care problems facing working parents -- and to promote and encourage best practices in the private sector.

But that's not enough.

Not when too many children in America have to spend their development years in low-quality child care.

And not when too many parents have to wake up every morning with three child care worries on their minds -- Can I find it? Can I afford it? Can I trust it?

There's no wonder parents are worried. We have a child care crisis in America today.

It's a crisis that touches children from their first years forward. It is a serious issue for child development.

Today, three out of five mothers with children under age six are employed outside the home.

45 percent of children under age one are in child care on a regular basis.

Nine out of 10 children eligible for child care assistance aren't getting it.

Poor families have to spend a quarter of their income on child care.

And more than 5 million school-age children spend time as latchkey children in a typical week.

What child care in America needs is a booster shot.

That's why the President proposed his historic Child Care Initiative -- the single, largest national investment in child care ever.

The President's child care plan would answer parents' top three concerns.

It will help parents find child care by creating more care-particularly after school care during those hours when parents are working and trouble is lurking.

It will help parents afford child care by doubling the number of children receiving child care subsidies-and by increasing tax credits for three million working families.

And it will provide a new tax credit for businesses that offer child care services to their employees.

Finally, the President's child care plan will help parents trust child care.

It will provide more than 3 billion dollars over five years to improve the quality of child care.to train providers.and to help states enforce their own health and safety standards.

The President's has challenged Congress to pass his child care plan this year.

There are a great number of bipartisan bills pending before Congress right now.

So far, Congress has yet to take real action.

But Congress still has time. There are 6 weeks left before the session ends and Congress goes home.

Meanwhile, millions of working parents can't leave home without affordable child care they can trust.

And so, our message to Congress is this: Don't go home without taking real action on child care this year. Don't go home without it.

Working parents need help. Their children need quality child care. Business is stepping up to the plate. Congress must also step up to the plate.

To paraphrase the UN Declaration, Congress owes to the child the best it has to give.