Speech by Vice-President Al Gore in New Hampshire

Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. Didn't Josh do a great job let's give him another half. He wrote that himself and he did it did a great job delivering it also. Thank you all for coming to this beautiful setting. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited that Josh introduced me because as Bob mentioned he does represent the future generation that really cares more deeply about the environment than any other generation as far as I can tell because young people are so involved in helping to clean up the water in the air and save endangered species and all the rest. You're fortunate to have good leadership here in the state of New Hampshire from Bob Varney your environmental commissioner and Bob your family is here today. Isn't that right. Where are they. You know they left their vacation to come to this event. And I want everybody to give them a big hand to thank you. The children are gone. I'm well thank you.

And president Joanne lights. Thank you for your very thoughtful words and for your leadership of the University of New Hampshire an institution that is known for the kind of programs that Joshes then and for the commitment of the personnel there to the environment. I too want to acknowledge should John De Villiers the outstanding region one administrator of the EPA. We enjoy working with you John. And may I also acknowledge Dr. Richard Lang and director of the Jackson Marine labs and I appreciate the tour that I got out here. This is such a beautiful place and I learned a lot more about it. Looking at the maps and getting an explanation of the various things that are underway here there are many other distinguished guests and I hope everybody else will just forgive me if I don't try to mention each person but there are state senators and state representatives and local officials and counselors to the governor and all kinds of distinguished guests. But I just want to acknowledge all of you as a group and thank you for coming and especially the girl scouts. Thank you

very much. Now I'm delighted to be here today on the shores of the magnificent Oyster River to talk about how far we have come in protecting our national waterways and more importantly to chart a new course to protect the glorious waters of New Hampshire for future generations. Twenty five years ago our nation's waters were under siege. Only one out of every three of our nation's waterways was even safe for swimming or fishing. We were losing about a half a billion acres of wetlands every year and you remember some of you my age remember when that river caught on fire in Ohio the Cuyahoga. Boy that was a wake up bell if I've ever heard one. And luckily for us in the aftermath of the first Earth Day back in 1970 just two years later the Congress passed the Clean Water Act

and we made up our minds as a nation to stop polluting our waters the way we were and start cleaning them up instead. And when we look at the big challenges that are facing us we ought to take heart from the fact that once we make up our minds to do something we really can do it. And the Clean Water Act has been such a success. We should pause to acknowledge that success because since we passed that twice as many waterways are safe for America's families today as they were in 1972 when that law passed. So any time somebody tells you that we can't make a difference or if the if the country tries to pass a law to clean up the environmental just make things worse. Just tell them that's not right. We've got too many success stories to point to when we decide we're going to do the right thing. We are fully capable of doing it and doing it well but in

celebrating that success let's also redouble our efforts and renew our commitment to do more because a lot more needs to be done. Forty percent of our nation's surveyed waterways are still too polluted for fishing and swimming and that's wrong. And that's also why this past February President Clinton and I announced a new clean water action plan a massive $2.3 billion commitment to give states and communities like durum the help that they need so they can protect the waters that are so essential to life itself. These children can tell you what they've learned in science class that we as human beings are mostly made up of water. It's the most essential ingredient of life. And when the water around us is polluted that's not good for human health.

The water is cleaned up and the pollution is removed. That does wonders not only for human help the economy as well. We're all connected and we're connected to the environment and a good way to understand that I think is to come to a place like this. As I look across this vast expanse of water behind me and all around here I know that it flows to a bay that is even more vast. And it's hard to believe that we as human beings could ever alter the fundamental nature of such a huge resource. But actually we can't. We have heard often that something or other is just a drop in the ocean. Well we have learned from our scientists that billions of drops in the ocean can have a profound effect on our rivers on our bays and on the ocean itself and of course when that happens it has an

effect on us. And we've learned that all those drops have changed the great bay and the upper little bay and the lower little bay and the Oyster River and all of the Internet connected parts of this ecosystem here. And that's why it's so distressing that 60 percent of the shellfish beds in New Hampshire's seacoast estuaries right now are too polluted to be harvested. These shellfish tell us that we have contaminated the great day that we are threatening its resources and we're threatening our own health. That makes it easier for me to understand that this is about more than environmental protection and it's about more than public health. It's also about what kind of economy are we going to have the strong and growing economy here in New Hampshire is connected

to the beautiful environment of New Hampshire. One of the reasons this state has created nearly 80000 jobs in the past five and a half years with an unemployment rate that is so stunningly low down to a three point zero percent one of the reasons all of that has happened is that this state is so beautiful and that makes a difference to the economy because it serves as a beacon for tourists and people who visit here to enjoy the natural beauty and people who move here with investment dollars to bring jobs and new businesses because people want to live in a place that's beautiful. The economy and the environment are not separate. They're really one and the same thing. And that's not just true of the boating industry or the fishing industry or the shell fishing industry. It's not just true for tourism.

It's true across the board. Our environment now directly sustains one in six American jobs. And so I think we're just about to pass the old mistake that people used to make saying that you have to choose between the environment and the economy. They're the same thing. And when you have a healthy environment you have a healthy economy and vice versa. And we shouldn't kid ourselves into thinking otherwise. And certainly we shouldn't try to kid these children into thinking otherwise. Well today we're taking the next step forward today. I'm very proud to announce up to 1.6 million dollars for New Hampshire to clean up the treasured seacoast estuaries. This is a major step forward and I'm very pleased to be able to make this announcement. What this means is that with an aggressive and

targeted effort we will make the great bay a national conservation priority. You already know how important the great bay and all of the connected parts of this ecosystem are and this new investment will be particularly good news for one of the key indicators of water quality. The shellfish everybody has heard the old cliche about the canary in the coal mine how the miners used it as an early warning signal. Well you could think about the shellfish a little bit like that as a measure of how healthy the water is. If the shellfish are not safe to eat you've got a problem with water pollution. By the same token if we can clean it up to the point where the shellfish are safe and highly valued again then that's a good indication that the water is back and safe and once again a premier attraction for

tourism investment and really a contributor to the high quality of life that people in this state deserve. Under Governor Shayne's leadership New Hampshire has developed a plan to restore these shellfish beds by 2005 Well once you get started in the right direction it's easier to see how to get there and it's easier to speed up the progress when everybody agrees that you're moving in the right direction. So today President Clinton and I are committing the resources that are needed to clean up and reopen more than 700 acres of New Hampshire's shellfish beds by the year 2001 four years ahead of schedule. That's progress good for New Hampshire good for our country. With these grants that I'm announcing here today we will also provide New

Hampshire's farmers with the help they need to be full partners in this effort. Clean water and save shellfish are already the pride of New Hampshire. Starting today they will be a national priority. President Clinton and I believe that our states are rural communities and our farmers deserve the resources needed to make clean water and protection of wetlands a priority. We simply cannot afford to turn back the clock on clean water. Remember when that Clean Water Act was passed back in 1972 it was a bipartisan effort. Democrats and Republicans joined hands and did it together. It's been a universal success. Our clean water action plan this year should be treated the same way. And I just wish that this Congress

would reclaim the bipartisan tradition of a commitment to the environment. Most Americans in both political parties and independents too for that matter believe very strongly that the environment should be beyond partisanship. Unfortunately on so many critical environmental issues this Congress has chosen partisanship over progress. I believe Congress should not leave Washington before giving farmers the help that we have requested to protect our water quality and save our wetlands. It is time to put progress first and partisanship last so we can finally get this crucial work done. In closing one look at the sparkling Oyster River makes it crystal clear why this issue is so critical.

We want our children and grandchildren to enjoy our coastal areas and our lakes and rivers in days. And we want to sustain the lives and livelihoods that are so dependent on these special places. And we know that fulfilling those goals is not just a matter of smart public policy it's also a moral obligation. Looked at in the broader scheme of things we really don't have the right to take away from these children the ability to enjoy a clean natural environment especially when cleaning it up is smart business and good economics as well as being good environmental policy. So I just want you to know that President Clinton and I feel it is an obligation that we are proud to fulfill here in New Hampshire and all

across America. Let's join hands and get it done. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming here today. Thank. You. Thank. You. We are so glad to have you here to welcome on behalf of all of us. The vice president of the United States Al Gore. Thank you. Very much. Thank you

very much. Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you Governor. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for the standing ovation. I'm overwhelmed honored. And Governor thank you for your very generous words. Our friendship is important to me and it's great to be with you and with Billy. I want to recognize Billy Shaheen who is here. Billy and Jean and I along with Katie Wheeler were actually marveling that Marjorie and Peter facing this Blessitt event a wedding just 10 days from now are so generous as to have all of us here on their lawn and the four of us have gone through

this wedding process within the last year. And Billy and I with our oldest daughters. And. I recommended to Peter earlier that he rent the movie father of the bride. Yes. And with Steve Martin and watch it watch it carefully as you as you plan your parking strategy out here but truly to you Peter and to you Marjorie. Thank you so much for this wonderful hospitality. We. We appreciate it very much. I want to also thank your son Doug who has done a fantastic job on this and on other matters. And I want to. On behalf of all of us wish God's blessings upon Abigail and Michael who are right out here. God bless you and. Best in your. Your life together. We're proud of you.

And. And please be careful on the lawn. OK. To Senator Sylvia Larson you've done a great job on this event Sylvia and I thank you for your real hard work in organizing. This is a great success. And to Senator John King thank you for your leadership of the Democrats in the state Senate and to all of the Democratic senators who are present. My congratulations on the great job that you're doing. And to you and to all of the candidates for the Senate. We are behind you 100 percent. This event is for you. I'll get into some of the reasons why in a moment. But I want to thank each and every one of you personally as a group for being willing to stand as candidates. We're proud of you and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we elect a Democratic majority in the state Senate here in

New Hampshire. I want to thank Jeff would burn your party chair and so fire Collier who's worked so hard on this event as your state party finance chair. I want to acknowledge Peter Berling again and all of the state representatives who are here I was actually at Peter's house not too long ago for an event similar to this one for our state. Yeah that's right. It works every time. Yes. I'll take credit for that. I'm used to serve on the weather Committee. And yeah I want to thank native Friedman and Joe Keefe and Jim Norman and all of the Tea Party leaders who who are here Joe and lied so I was with the president lights earlier at an event involving the University of New Hampshire and

saving this river and bringing the shellfish beds back four years ahead of schedule following on the great leadership of the governor. I want to acknowledge the other candidates as well and especially candidates for the house. I've got a personal interest in this and I want to acknowledge again Mary raúl and Peter flood. All the best to you. Thank you very much. Good luck. And George. And George Kondo Democrat. Thank you very much for standing as a as a candidate and Mrs. Gondo Democrat. Thank you very much. And all other all of the distinguished guests who are present. Thank you for being a part of this event. I had an event. Earlier today at which Governor Shaheen and I were able to talk about education and lifelong learning and the need for a

brand new approach to job training. It reminded me. That this woman has not only brought commonsense to the corner office she is now clearly one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party nationwide. And I congratulate you. She needs some help. You know in our system of government. Established as it was in. Reaction to a feeling of oppression. By England. And you know of course that before Lexington and Concord Peter was reminding me there was the event at Newcastle where they got the gunpowder for Lexington and Concord right up this river here. And as those events played out we gained our independence and.

Drafted a constitution for a new government and the state governments took that Constitution as their model and one of the features. Is. A balance of power. With the different branches of government divided. One of the reasons for that. Goes back to those days of the Newcastle rate. And a desire to make it difficult. For those who are in charge of our self-government to bring about significant change lest there be some oppression however. Means were provided in our self-governing documents for the people to take control. And bring about change when it was necessary. Now here's the situation you've got here you've elected after a long dry spell a great Democratic governor who has lifted

our spirits who has renewed this state who has brought a new sense of confidence a new feeling of optimism to everybody in this state who looks to the future and sees the difference between what's going on now and what was going on just a few years ago. And she clearly has the right kind of vision and the right blueprint. To take this state into the 21st century. But her wise plans are too frequently blocked. By holdovers. In the state Senate. Who are still holding on to an obsolete approach from the past. That no longer works. You know I was reminded in preparing for this event that. The last time you correct me if I'm wrong about this. The last time the Democrats control the state Senate. In New Hampshire. Was in 1913. Is that right.

Well you know Judy was describing what it was like at that time and yet you know back then. A lot of people thought smoking was good for your health. They hadn't really committed themselves to educational opportunity for all they. Didn't really conceive of the fact that Americans ought to have access to to quality health care are you know much less had had a had a right to it. The Republicans serving in the state Senate here in New Hampshire today of course were not around in 1913. But they're still running on ideas that trace back directly to 1938. They haven't changed. That. So we need. To help you.

Change them. This state has an opportunity to build on the great progress that Governor Jeanne Shaheen and the Democrats have made possible here. We've got to make sure that all of these incumbents win we've got to hold that open Democratic seat in Sullivan County. And we've got to pick up at least four more seats. So Governor Shaheen has a Senate that will work with her and not against her. Let's elect Jean to. The United States. We. Have. We have the right candidates. We have the right values. We have the right blueprint. Look at the record. You remember what it was like before Democratic leadership the state was in the deepest recession it had experienced since the Great Depression beginning in 1929. We were facing very high levels of unemployment hope was declining.

President Clinton I came to this state and asked for your confidence and support in bringing a new blueprint to our national government. And incidentally thank you very much for giving us a chance to bring change to this country. New Hampshire led the way. Historically. And we began a process of change and then Jeanne Shaheen came to bring the change directly to New Hampshire in a new burst of energy. And since that change began there are almost 80000 new jobs here. In the previous administration. New Hampshire was losing more than 10000 jobs every year. Now you're creating fifteen thousand a year. Unemployment has gone down to three point zero percent. Now it's really a stunning record. Crime is down. Welfare rolls are down by 50 percent. Child support collection is up by 80 percent.

Small business creation is way up especially for women owned small businesses and we're seeing this state now have a higher percentage of high technology jobs in its economy of practically any state in the country. You know because of Jeanne Shaheen leadership and because of the leadership provided by these Democratic state senators that we are in the early stages of an information revolution from which this state is already benefiting. But and there is a very large conditionality here. In order to make this change work for us instead of against us we have to prepare for it. That's where leadership from Democrats comes in. Because now in the new information age knowledge is the strategic resource. Learning is the strategic skill. Governor Shaheen and I were over this morning at Insight technologies. I

referred to it a moment ago in Londonderry. Where 20 cutting edge businesses here in New Hampshire are teaming up with Manchester Community Technical College to prepare the state. For the wonderful opportunities that are emerging in the 21st century. In order to seize those opportunities. We have to equip ourselves to do so and that means investing more in education. That means improving schools. That means remodeling classrooms. That means hiring and giving excellent training to new teachers It means reducing the classroom size it means giving communities bonding authority with this new federal program that where they can expand schools where it's necessary. It means creating partnerships between businesses and labor and local communities and schools in order to make sure that the training and the educational programs are there so that the new businesses that are springing up don't have to lobby the

Congress to lead in more high skilled immigrants from overseas to fill jobs that can't be filled by Americans because they don't have the training but instead to see the opportunity to make sure that we provide the educational opportunity here in this state to give citizens of New Hampshire the training and education that they need to fill those jobs. And improve their lives. Ladies and gentlemen. That's where you come in. You've taken the first step. You've elected a Democratic governor. Who's not only a Democratic governor she is an extraordinary Democratic governor with commonsense well balanced approaches and a vision for the future. You've already elected some outstanding Democratic members of the state Senate and the State House who are doing everything they can to provide support for her but now you have to go and take the next step.

And the reason we're all asking you to elect Jeanne's team is because only by giving her the Senate that will work with her. Can you consolidate this process of change and really do the right thing for these young children who are here really do the right thing for this state and not only on education. I was out just before this event as I mentioned on the Oyster River. And many have said that in New Hampshire you can see with the sport fishing and the shellfish and the tourism industry and boating and all of the wonderful tourism you can see how the environment and the economy are not in opposition to one another. They really are one and the same thing. And so Jeanne Shaheen says efforts to restore the natural health of the great bay and these rivers and the other bays here is not only an environmental. Imperative it is also important again for

building a base for future prosperity economically in this state. But there again in order to succeed you have to take the next step and elect a team for the Senate that will vote with her and allow her to make these ideas work. Now one final point this governor following a democratic blueprint that President Clinton and I have also followed has emphasized strict fiscal discipline. Which incidentally is imperative if we're going to keep interest rates low and free up resources for the progressive priorities that require investments in the future. It also rebuilds confidence in the viability of our self government. The integrity of our representative democracy which gives which results in the people giving permission for the kinds of investments that are very

wise for our future. Now again when the Republicans were in the corner office they gave they left her a 44 million dollar deficit. With your help New Hampshire finally passed a balanced budget based on real numbers and hard choices. Now we have to have a Democratic Senate to keep the budget balanced. So New Hampshire can keep creating jobs and keep investing in the future. We need a Senate that won't. Cave in to the tobacco lobby. That was an amazing surrender on their part. The youth access to tobacco law which will help keep tobacco out of the hands of our children was an important first step. But we all know that this law could have been stronger and would have been and would have avoided some other problems that the governor referred to. If we had had a Democratic

Senate. I've had. Personal experience with fighting them and I know what it's like and you know what it's like. And you can make a difference there. What a sweet victory it would be. To say to the big tobacco companies after this election here in New Hampshire not only keep your hands off our children but by the way we've got a Democratic Senate and we're going to make you keep your hands off our children. And pay your fair share. And one final issue. Involving patients rights. We live in a time when new technologies in health care and new institutional arrangements. Are really unsettling to many families. We need a Democratic Senate. To stick up for the patients to say medical decisions that. Affect families so deeply should not be made by bookkeepers or

accountants. Under pressure from HMO but they should be made by doctors and nurses and health care professionals. Now in closing. The choice is not only between a group of individuals these outstanding candidates and their counterparts on the other side. We can match them up one by one and went on that basis. But it's also between two parties. Two ways of looking at the world. Our Democratic Party is united. We're all together. With a common vision and a lot of confidence about what we can do for this state and for this country. The Republican Party is divided. There's so much disarray in the Republican Party in 1998. The right hand doesn't know what the far right hand is doing.

You. Watch. They've got. They've got leaders who turned their backs on working families. But you notice they dare not turn their backs on one another because of all the backstabbing that's going on. It's true. So look at those factors. And then finally remember that sometimes we are tempted to make a mistake and assume that because our ideas. Seem so obviously better for the people. Because the record seems so clearly to demonstrate that fact we sometimes think well let's just put the agenda out there. Explain exactly what we're proposing and what they're proposing and that'll do it. Well sometimes it does but more often than not there is a second factor that overwhelms that logic. And you could call it intensity. How hard. Are the two parties willing to work. And that brings me back to where I began

in our system of government. It is intended to be hard to bring about change. But it can be done. And when it's necessary the people do it. You've won the governor's office. And you can win the Senate. But make no mistake what it will recoat require is intensity a strong will to win that far right hand of the Republican Party. Is wrong about almost everything. But they're intensely wrong. If you get my meaning. They think they breathe fire. They're intense. They get out there and knock on doors and register voters and get them out to the polls. And a lot of times they win elections which by all rights they have no business winning. So much is at stake in this election here in New Hampshire for the future of these children. For the future of this state. You

must summon the requisite intensity. To more than match what they have on the other side. We've got the candidates. We've got the leadership. We've got the vision. We've got you with your intensity with your willing to work. We're going to have victory in November for a Senate that is democratic. Support. James. Thank you. Thank. You. Cek cek cek. Long long time governor with all of us together. Also Vice President Cheney. Couple questions. First meaning in the war. Well.

It's good to be with you. You know there's a there's a lot of people who feel very strongly and have a lot of support and support her feelings for the vice president in the United States and that is that we're Democrats and we have a Democratic administration is a lot of pride in that. And I think this is an extension of that pride. There's also a lot of bad things happening in Washington and a lot of mis focus energy on things that don't matter and real people don't care about and I think this shows that Democrats and average voters want to see the focus of government be on on the important issues. And this investigation happy Congress and the activities of Republicans I think she can't help but create a great deal of enthusiasm but there's enthusiasm at at every level. And I think with the other presidential candidates or potential candidates come they have a lot of friends here in this state we were fortunate to have three candidates who run before and lost. So they know the process and they they understand the importance of grassroots. And they're going to work hard and it will be a great process.

It's not easy so it's hard to escape talking about it. Yes sure. The president needs to be angry too. You know there's no tightlipped ness about it. I think that this is a total waste of time energy and money. I think the people that our officials to deal with the problems of the people and the issues and reporting's this investigation has gone on longer than World War II. It's time for it to be done with. And you know people just don't want to hear what they want to hear about the importance of what's important on their lives not the personal lives of our elected officials. I think it's it's it's a tragedy to see this our government be turned into an investigation and not focus on the job that they should be doing which is the concerns of the people. When I of Peter Peter was not here I think anyone who was introduced to was or was was people who are physically here. Peter is is it is a great guy and is running in the Second Congressional District a lot of important issues to talk about.

He was here he would have been reduced. I'm sure there's friction Anytime two candidates running anything that's going to be a certain level of friction friction as well as friction. I might add. But you know that's all part of the process everyone gets excited or in races and it's so easy in this business to demonize your opponent. But I don't I'm not concerned that that race has gotten negative and it hasn't. And I think they'll all come together and Peter's a quality person very rouse quality person they'll come together and we'll work hard to beat the incumbent. You called my Godfrey for this election my God this election is try to try to focus on grassroots get people involved the process this politics is about people to vote getting people involved in the process. We're seeing voter numbers of voters turn out. Down down down down down. We need to turn that around the way you turn around you get people involved you get candidates knocking on doors going to local communities stirring up issues that are of concern and trying to get them about the process. That's what I wanted to hear. Oh yours is going to be a long time.

It will be a low turnout election. I hope that we can we can change that. But I think historically that's what we're looking at. And you know negativity forces voters not to come to the polls and candidates who engage in that for tactical reasons to drive down voter participation really need to be called on the carpet. And I think we're seeing some of that in the primary for governor is it candidates talk about ideas. We have some historic issues on the table in New Hampshire and we need to focus on them and instead of negative personal attacks instead of misinformation which stick to the issues there's important issues out there. I think it's unrealistic to get them a go. I think that's ambitious and I think we'll certainly make gains here. I think the Senate is the priority that we can win that Senate. And I think that will make a big difference in state and Hampshire are to build. You build the party from the bottom up and you get a bill that base and then you grow it. And that's what we need to do. Great. Now