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REMARKS BY:  DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE: BRYN MAWR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BRYN MAWR, PENNSYLVANIA
DATE: APRIL 27, 1998

Most of you here tonight know Lynn Yeakle as a friend, a neighbor, a voice for the voiceless, and a dedicated member of this congregation. I know Lynn both as a friend and as a dedicated member of the Health and Human Services family -- she's my eyes and ears in Philadelphia and beyond. And from what Lynn tells me, Pastor Bay and his congregation are one reason why Philadelphia is still known as the City of Brotherly Love. I must say, it's a little intimidating to speak from the main sanctuary of such a grand and beautiful chapel ... surrounded by walls that I'm sure have echoed many eloquent words ... and having that astounding Reiger Pipe Organ back there looming over me. We're all pretty small in the eyes of God... some of us are just a little smaller. But I also know that houses of worship are not built to be intimidating. They're built to be inviting and enlightening and uplifting. And yes...sometimes entertaining. As the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr said, "Humor is a prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer."

I recently came across a collection of church bulletin announcements that proved the faithful aren't immune to malapropisms. One of them said: "This being Easter Sunday...we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the alter." Another announced: "The eighth graders will present Shakespeare's Hamlet in the church on Friday night ...the congregation is invited to attend this tragedy." Here's one that I'm sure didn't help: "The Low Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday night. Please use the back door." Finally, there was one announcement that may be appropriate tonight. It said: "The Reverend Merriweather spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience." I'll try to speak as briefly as possible. But I do want to answer the question you have posed tonight: "Are We Still Our Brothers' Keeper?" The simple answer is, "Yes." Thank you, and good night.

But the real answer is a little more involved. Because the way we serve human needs is a lot more involved than when Cain uttered that timeless question in Genesis four. The way we carry out this duty today is like the way your Reiger pipe organ and the choirs of this church make their beautiful music. It is the combination of single notes coming together ... making a sound more boisterous and glorious than the sum of all the windpipes and the organ pipes combined. The question is, what music shall we play? And for whom shall we play it? The answer was captured for me not long ago, during a White House press conference on the problem of children without health insurance.

Joining the President, the First Lady and me that day was the father of a young boy who had suffered repeated ear infections that left him hearing-impaired. The family couldn't afford private health insurance, so they couldn't pay for the surgery the boy needed. What the family didn't know was that the boy was eligible for Medicaid -- until community volunteers reached out and let them know. The boy got his operation. One day, not long after his surgery, the toddler was playing in the yard, and he suddenly began to cry. The boy was frightened. ... He had never heard the wind before. He had never heard the wind.

In this child's small cry, we hear the sound of something else. It's the sound of opportunity and beauty that this boy had never had -- but all children deserve. When I meet children at child care centers or children's hospitals, I see more than a new generation of children. I see the children of the millennium. Children who will grow up to define our nation and determine our course in the next century. How will we be our children's keepers, so they can grow to fulfill their God-given potential? Heaven knows, it won't be easy.

Today's children face challenges, pressures and worries that Norman Rockwell never imagined when he painted his quintessential pictures of Main Street, America. Children in poverty. Children without health insurance. Children abused and neglected. Children smoking, drinking, shooting heroin and smoking marijuana. And yes -- as a small town in Pennsylvania learned all too tragically last week -- we have children killing at school. No wonder that, for too many children, the future looks more like the nightmare on Elm Street than the American dream. And with all the stresses and demands on working families today, parents barely have enough time to talk with their children-let alone play and pray...teach and train...guide and guard.

This Administration has been working hard to turn this picture around. We've raised childhood immunization levels to an all time-high, and pushed vaccine-preventable diseases to an all-time low. We've enrolled more children in Head Start than ever before.

We've adopted the historic Children's Health Insurance Program, to cover millions of children from working families who have no health care coverage. We've started reforms of the welfare system, to help millions of families trade their assistance checks for paychecks. And we've offered child care assistance for millions of working families who need it most. But still the question remains -- how do we ensure that the American dream becomes the American reality for every child?

I believe there are ten basic things we must do for our children. Things we must all do. Every day. I call this list, The Ten Steps To Raising the Children of the Millennium." These are not ten commandments. But like the list that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai, these tens steps for children will lead to a healthy, peaceful, happy existence. First, let us protect our children from tobacco.

How many times do we need to hear the appalling statistics about children and tobacco before we do something about them? That the tobacco industry targeted children. That 3000 children become regular smokers every day, and 1000 will die prematurely as a result. That smoking among teenagers has jumped by a third. And among African American teens, a full 80 percent. In fact, the Surgeon General reported this morning, tobacco use has reached epidemic levels for ethnic and minority communities in our country. What can we do to protect children from tobacco? Right now, the President is challenging -- and working with -- the Congress to adopt comprehensive tobacco legislation before they go home for reelection. Our message to Congress is: Don't go home this session without passing comprehensive tobacco legislation that will protect children from tobacco. Don't go home without it.

Second step -- let us also kick drugs out of children's lives. The President has challenged the nation to cut the rate of drug use in half within the next 10 years. And the first priority is preventing young people from ever using drugs in the first place. We must start early. And we must never -- never -- give children mixed messages about drugs. That some are safe and OK. That we'll look the other way. The drumbeat against drugs must be constant, and consistent. That drugs are not cool. They're not safe. They will rip your family apart. And they could ruin your future. Let's make sure they know that using drugs is just not worth it.

Third step -- let us feed our children's minds. As the world becomes more complex, so does the need for education. What kind of education we need is always up for debate. Many years ago, the screen star Tallulah Bankhead said, "I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal education." More recently, a Pennsylvania native named John Updike said, that after four years at Harvard, "I still had a lot to learn. But I had been given the liberating notion that now I could teach myself." To prepare children for a life of learning, they need a "seamless system" that will propel them from nursery school to grade school, and through high school to college. That's why the President has challenged Congress to expand Head Start ... and to expand child care options for working families. And although Congress balked at our plan to help communities hire more teachers and modernize our schools-we won't give up the fight. Through efforts like "America Reads" and the "Mathematics Initiative" we're also making sure that every child can read independently by 3rd grade, and can master challenging math by 8th grade. And when the time comes, we're helping students pay for college through Hope Scholarships, Lifetime Learning Tax Credits and an increase in Pell Grants. But the hunger to learn must begin at home -- by engaging children's minds, challenging their thoughts and encouraging their curiosity by reading to our kids.

Fourth step-let's keep our children busy. For too many kids, the hours between three and seven are "crime time," when school's out, parents are working, and trouble is lurking. Giving our children constructive after-school activities is a challenge for both the public and private sectors. The Mott Foundation has just pledged 55 million dollars to help with after-school programs supported by federal funds. This is a good way to get involved in children's lives.

Which leads to step number five -- let us all keep an eye on children -- all children. Colin Powell says he was saved from the streets by family, church, good public schools and a system he called the "aunt net." He said, "When I set off to school each morning, I had an aunt in every other house, stationed at the window with eyes peeled, ready to spot the slightest misbehavior on my part and report it back to my parents." To which he added, "the Internet pales in comparison to the Aunt-Net." Let's all weave a safety net for all children.

Step number six -- let us protect our children's health. Like their education, their health also requires a seamless system of attention and care. This Administration has filled in some of the largest gaps in children's health care. From before they're born, by giving women greater access to pre-natal care. To the first hours of life, by requiring insurance companies to allow mother and child to stay in the hospital longer to recover.

To the toddler years, by raising childhood immunization rates, striving to make sure that children -- especially minority children -- can receive their vaccines by age two.

To the wonder years, by protecting them from tobacco, drugs and alcohol. Last week, I opened the Rosie O'Donnell Show to urge parents to make sure their infants and toddlers get their vaccine shots. That show reaches only 5 million people. But you can help us reach some more. There is no reason why every child cannot be immunized. Of course, no child can have a healthy start in life if they don't have health insurance. The Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, that we adopted last year will extend this healthy start to millions of new children. And Pennsylvania should be proud of its efforts to provide quality health insurance for all it's children-even before CHIP. It was so far ahead of other states, that Pennsylvania was one of only three states whose benefits' package was grand-fathered into the CHIP law. But like that father I mentioned earlier, too many working families aren't aware they may be eligible for this program or Medicaid health coverage. So if you know any families without insurance, ask them if they may be covered. It could give their children a healthy start on life.

Step number seven -- let us empower the girls. The teen years are hard for boys and girls. But research tells us that girls experience it differently. We know that many girls hit the critical years of 9 to 14 and suddenly lose the strength that got them there. While boys turn outward and become more aggressive, some girls turn inward - and they self-destruct. They neglect their studies and aspirations. And, they obsess about their weight and their appearance.

In fact, too many girls in our country are more concerned about their weight and being accepted than they are about excelling in school, staying healthy or contributing to society. Together we have a responsibility to change that. That's why my Department is leading a campaign called Girl Power! It teams up with parents and other adults to help 9 to 14 year-old girls make the most of their lives. If you want to help, search for Girl Power on my Department's home page on the Web.

Eighth step -- let us teach our children peace. Today, violence is the second leading cause of death for American between the ages of 15 and 24 -- and the leading cause of death for African Americans in the same age group. But adolescent violence is not inevitable. And it cannot be solved exclusively by the criminal justice system. Nor is there one single solution. It takes school curricula. Mentoring. Conflict resolution. Summer jobs. And it takes several of the steps I'm talking about today -- from protecting children from drugs, to giving them after-school programs, to creating the Aunt Net that Colin Powell talked about. We also need to teach our children about diversity. That our racial, ethnic or religious differences -- like the different pipes on a church organ -- create a richer symphony for our communities and our nation. And since violence begets violence, we should all keep an eye out for children who may be suffering from abuse or neglect at home. According to a new report, almost one million children were identified as victims of abuse or neglect in 1996 -- and more than a thousand children died as a result. My Department offers parents and communities information and resources to help prevent child abuse and neglect. But like drug abuse, preventing child abuse and child violence is a job for families. Neighbors. Teachers. Coaches. Counselors. Clergy. And you.

Step number nin -- let us give working families a chance to succeed. Last year, we replaced the trap of welfare with the hope of work, and adopted measures to make work pay, like raising the minimum wage, child support enforcement and the EITC. But to help people make the journey from welfare to work, we need to offer a bridge. Such as Mayor Rendell's "Philadelphia Works" plan, which offers an array of help to people -- especially single mothers -- who are struggling to land and keep a job. The business community needs to offer a bridge, too, by giving former welfare recipients a shot at a job and a new life.

Step number nine -- let us all champion our children. A famous American said it takes a village to raise a child. You'll notice she didn't say it takes a government to raise a child. Government can -- and should -- play a role in helping families with their struggles to raise healthy children. Because some of these struggles go beyond family concerns. When children are at risk, it's a national concern. That means raising the children of the millennium is a national challenge, and it calls on every sector of society to champion our children. The private sector ... the giving sector ... and the faithful. I'm reminded that Julia Ward Howe-who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic-once asked Senator Charles Sumner to help a certain struggling family. The Senator sighed, and said, "Julia, I've become so busy that I can no longer concern myself with individuals." Without missing a beat, Howe replied, "Charles, I find that quite remarkable- Even God isn't that busy." Of course, I know that tonight I'm literally preaching to the choir. This congregation already makes everyone's child everyone's responsibility. We need everyone in America to follow your lead for all children.

We need church workers, health care workers and day care workers to spread the good news about child health insurance and immunization. We need business people to make work places and work practices child friendly, and to hire former welfare recipients.

We need public officials from the town hall to the National Mall to amplify the voice of children in the corridors of government.

And we need every individual to champion our children -- not just parents, but everyone. Someone to watch over them ... to be their role model ... to talk to them ... to guide them ... and to show them what it takes to be a good parent, a good neighbor, and a good citizen.

Above all, children need someone who can build a strong and healthy voice inside of them. A voice of pride. Of confidence. Of self-respect. Of hope.

Let's give our children a dream to grow on. Tell a child there's nothing she can't learn ... nothing he can't achieve ... nothing they can't do to improve themselves, their society, their world. Tell our children if they want to see a real champion in the making, they should look in the mirror. Let's help the boy or girl looking back to see the beauty, the potential and the power to shape themselves, their nation -- and the new millennium. A well-known passage by Reinhold Neibuhr closes with an observation that I would like to close with tonight. It reminds us that policies and programs alone can't raise a strong and healthy generation of children -- it takes the human touch of caring people. "Nothing we do," he said, "however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love." Let us save our children with love.