[Charles Fishman, editor] Please Distribute 10/08/92 THE ESSENTIAL CLINTON: EDUCATION "Of these initiatives [outlined in my plan], the most important is a comprehensive push to improve the education of our children." THE VISION --------------------------- [Hillary] "taught me that all children can learn and that each of us has a duty to help them do it." "We'll say: Everybody can borrow the money to go to college. But you must do your part. You must pay it back-- from your paychecks or, better yet, by going home and serving your communities." "We could educate a whole generation of Americans, pay for it, [and] solve a lot of our problems. It would be the best money we ever spent, and it would be a very small portion of a very big budget. There are those who say we can't afford it. I say we cannot afford not to do it." THE BUSH RECORD --------------------------- [Statement July 23, 1992]: "Three months before the election, George Bush is trying to become the Education President he never was. After three-and-a-half years of doing nothing, he today signed the Higher Education Bill that he opposed every step of the way." "When it comes to a photo opportunity, George Bush is everybody's President. But when it comes to educational opportunity, he is nobody's friend. As a candidate, he promised full funding for Head Start but, as President, he delivered help for only about 1 in 3 eligible children." "At every opportunity, President Bush has promised to revitalize education, but in 1992 the Education President proposed spending for education that didn't even keep pace with inflation." THE CLINTON PLAN --------------------------- "As President I will scrap the existing student loan program and establish a National Service Trust Fund. Every American will be able to borrow for college, whatever their income. Those who borrow will be able to choose how to repay the balance: either as a small percentage of their income over time, or by serving their communities for one or two years doing work their country needs." "The average high school graduate starting work today is starting at a wage that, adjusted for inflation, is more than 20 percent lower than it was 15 years ago." "What does that mean? That means every person who gets out of high school should have at least access to two years of further training at an apprenticeship program, at a community college, in the workforce, or in some other way, and we need a system that promotes that in this country. We don't have a person to waste." We've got to have an education program that provides apprenticeship training for all the young people who don't want to go to college and don't want to be in dead end jobs. We ought to reverse the policy of the last twelve years and say, Anybody who wants to borrow the money can go to college." "we should open the doors of college education to all Americans and make it possible for people to stay." "America needs an Education President who shows up for class every day, not just once every four years. I will be that President." ENDORSEMENTS --------------------------- NEA (National Education Association) AFT (American Federation of Teachers) President, Albert Shanker: "No matter how you look at it, Clinton's candidacy represents the most thoughtful option out there to help change this country. He not only understands the importance of education to the nation's future, but also the teamwork, strategy and resources it will take for us to get there." NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) President, Thomas Y. Hobart Jr. [in urging members to support Clinton]: "We must put a president in the White House who is committed to funding public education, providing economic growth and the jobs and expansion of the tax base that comes with investing the government's resources in its people. Nothing is more important." Hobart, again: "Electing Bill Clinton is, without doubt, the most important thing we can do for public education and health care in this country. . . ."