Four years later . . .

President Clinton, State of the Universe Address, January 27, 2000:

"To 21st century America, let us pledge these things: Every child will begin school ready to learn and graduate ready to succeed. Every family will be able to succeed at home and at work, and no child will be raised in poverty. We will meet the challenge of the aging of America. We will assure quality, affordable health care, at last, for all Americans."

(The era of big government is over)

"[F]or too long this Congress has been standing still on some of our most pressing national priorities. So let's begin tonight with them."

(The era of big government is over)

"I ask you to pass a real patients' bill of rights. I ask you to pass common-sense gun safety legislation. I ask you to pass campaign finance reform. I ask you to vote up or down on judicial nominations and other important appointees. And, again, I ask you--I implore you--to raise the minimum wage."

(The era of big government is over)

"But this is just the start of our journey. . . ."

(The era of big government is over)

"Each year, our national government invests more than $15 billion in our schools. . . . Let's double our investment to help states and districts turn around their worst-performing schools, or shut them down. Let's double our investments in after-school and summer school programs, which boost achievement and keep people off the streets and out of trouble. If we do this, we can give every single child in every failing school in America--everyone--the chance to meet high standards."

(The era of big government is over)

"Tonight, I ask you for another $1 billion for Head Start, the largest increase in the history of the program."

(The era of big government is over)

"[T]onight, I propose to help 5,000 schools a year make immediate and urgent repairs; and again, to help build or modernize 6,000 more, to get students out of trailers and into high-tech classrooms."

(The era of big government is over)

"I ask all of you to help me double our bipartisan Gear-Up program, which provides mentors for disadvantaged young people. If we double it, we can provide mentors for 1.4 million of them."

(The era of big government is over)

"I propose a landmark $30-billion college opportunity tax cut--a middle class tax deduction for up to $10,000 in college tuition costs. The previous actions of this Congress have already made two years of college affordable for all. It's time to make four years of college affordable for all."

(The era of big government is over)

"We need a 21st century revolution to reward work and strengthen families, by giving every parent the tools to succeed at work and at the most important work of all--raising children. That means making sure every family has health care and the support to care for aging parents, the tools to bring their children up right, and that no child grows up in poverty."

(The era of big government is over)

"Tonight I propose that we follow Vice President Gore's suggestion to make low income parents eligible for the insurance that covers their children. Together with our children's initiative--think of this--together with our children's initiative, this action would enable us to cover nearly a quarter of all the uninsured people in America."

(The era of big government is over)

"My budget includes a comprehensive plan to reform Medicare, to make it more efficient and competitive. And it dedicates nearly $400 billion of our budget surplus to keep Medicare solvent past 2025. And, at long last, it also provides funds to give every senior a voluntary choice of affordable coverage for prescription drugs."

(The era of big government is over)

"In good conscience, we cannot let another year pass without extending to all our seniors [a] lifeline of affordable prescription drugs."

(The era of big government is over)

"Record numbers of Americans are providing for aging or ailing loved ones at home. It's a loving, but a difficult and often very expensive choice. Last year, I proposed a $1,000 tax credit for long-term care. Frankly, it wasn't enough. This year, let's triple it, to $3,000."

(The era of big government is over)

"We also have to make needed investments to expand access to mental health care."

(The era of big government is over)

"Taken together, these proposals would mark the largest investment in health care in the 35 years since Medicare was created--the largest investment in 35 years."

(The era of big government is over)

"We must [provide] the resources to enforce present equal pay laws; training more women for high-paying, high-tech jobs; and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act."

(The era of big government is over)

"My child care initiative . . . along with funds already secured in welfare reform, would make child care better, safer and more affordable for another 400,000 children."

(The era of big government is over)

"Clearly, demanding and supporting responsible fatherhood is critical to lifting all children out of poverty. We've doubled child support collections since 1992. And I'm proposing to you tough new measures to hold still more fathers responsible."

(The era of big government is over)

"If we take the steps I've just discussed, we can go a long, long way toward empowering parents to succeed at home and at work, and ensuring that no child is raised in poverty. We can make these vital investments in health care, education, support for working families, and still offer tax cuts to help pay for college, for retirement, to care for aging parents, to reduce the marriage penalty."

(The era of big government is over)

"Last fall, Congress supported my plan to hire, in addition to the 100,000 community police we've already funded, 50,000 more, concentrated in high-crime neighborhoods. I ask your continued support for that."

(The era of big government is over)

"Every state in this country already requires hunters and automobile drivers to have a license. I think they ought to do the same thing for handgun purchases. Now, specifically, I propose a plan to ensure that all new handgun buyers must first have a photo license from their state showing they passed the Brady background check and a gun safety course, before they get the gun. I hope you'll help me pass that in this Congress."

(The era of big government is over)

"I also ask [Congress] to make special efforts to address the areas of our nation with the highest rates of poverty--our Native American reservations and the Mississippi Delta. My budget includes a $110-million initiative to promote economic development in the Delta, and a billion dollars to increase economic opportunity, health care, education and law enforcement for our Native American communities."

(The era of big government is over)

"My budget ensures that all new teachers are trained to teach 21st century skills, and it creates technology centers in 1,000 communities to serve adults."

(The era of big government is over)

"In a world where over a billion people live on less than a dollar a day, we also have got to do our part in the global endeavor to reduce the debts of the poorest countries, so they can invest in education, health care and economic growth."

(The era of big government is over)

"I also want to say that America must help more nations to break the bonds of disease. Last year in Africa, 10 times as many people died from AIDS as were killed in wars -- 10 times. The budget I give you invests $150 million more in the fight against this and other infectious killers."

(The era of big government is over)

"As our economy has grown, we've rid more than 500 neighborhoods of toxic waste, ensured cleaner air and water for millions of people. In the past three months alone, we've helped preserve 40 million acres of roadless lands in the national forests, created three new national monuments. . . . Tonight, I propose creating a permanent conservation fund, to restore wildlife, protect coastlines, save natural treasures, from the California redwoods to the Florida Everglades."

(The era of big government is over)

"We need more funding for advanced transit systems. We need more funding for saving open spaces in places of heavy development. And we need more funding . . . for helping major cities around the Great Lakes protect their waterways and enhance their quality of life."

(The era of big government is over)

"To accelerate the march of discovery . . . in science and technology, I ask you to support my recommendation of an unprecedented $3 billion in the 21st Century Research Fund, the largest increase in civilian research in a generation."

(The era of big government is over)

"We should do more to help new immigrants to fully participate in our community. That's why I recommend spending more to teach them civics and English. And since everybody in our community counts, we've got to make sure everyone is counted in this year's census."

(The era of big government is over)

"I ask [Congress] to [pass] without delay the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And I ask you to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act."

(The era of big government is over)

"Finally tonight, I propose the largest-ever investment in our civil rights laws for enforcement, because no American should be subjected to discrimination in finding a home, getting a job, going to school, or securing a loan. Protections in law should be protections in fact."

(The era of big government is over)

"Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America."