 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Sit down, please, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning. Mr. President, three and a half weeks ago, you challenged a number of the people who are here behind you and also in this group to come up with a means of doing a more effective job and to consolidating what has already been made in terms of the progress to assist in making this a safer country for the young people of our nation. I'm pleased today to be here along with the folks that you see here, Governor Martin, Secretary Heckler, Secretary Bennett, Representative Lewis, Chairman Thurman, Senator Hawkins, Director Bill Webster of the FBI, and many people that I can't name, there are too many of them that are out here in the audience, to say that we have done some things to further this cause. We now have a plan that can bring together the great resources of the spirit of America, which you have talked about in your private sector initiatives, into a partnership with government so that we can do a better job in making this country safe, as I mentioned for our young people. By forming this private and public partnership, we will be able to build on the good work that has already been done. Many of the people here represent groups, organizations, and both the public and the private sector that have done a great deal already in the past. We will be coordinating the exemplary private work with the activities of government on all levels. We'll focus on several problems. First of all, the exploitation of runaway children. Secondly, the abduction of children both by non-custodial parents and by strangers. Thirdly, violent crimes against children. Fourth, physical abuse and sexual exploitation of children. And finally, the luring of children into prostitution and pornography. The partnership will address these problems by identifying the private resources that can be utilized, by providing a forum for the exchange of information, by encouraging and coordinating model efforts and putting out information so that they can be replicated around the country, and by advising what federal, state, and local governmental agencies including law enforcement can do to address these problems more effectively. We call this, Mr. President, a public-private partnership because that's truly what we envision here as the way to handle these problems in the future. The members of the partnership will include concerned leaders from state and local government, law enforcement, private business, civic organizations, and the Congress. And Secretary Heckler, Secretary Bennett, and I will personally provide the leadership of our own offices and our departments to this effort. Mr. President, I am proud to be able to present to you the plan for this public-private partnership in terms of the executive order that you'll sign this morning. And to say more than that, you have the commitment of the people who stand with you here and the people who are out in front who will be part of this public-private partnership. Thank you. Well, Attorney General Meese, Governor Martin, Congressman Lewis, Senator Thurmond, Senator Hawkins, and ladies and gentlemen welcome once again to the White House. I saw many of you just a few weeks ago, and this time I ordered some good weather for this happy day. I've read your plan for a public-private partnership to encourage child safety, and I concur with your proposals. And I am here today to sign both the proclamation for National Child Safety Awareness Month and the executive order concerning the Child Safety Partnership. And I'd just like to say before I put my name in these papers that Nancy and I have been so moved, so touched by the recent efforts of the citizens of our nation in response to the sad problem of missing children, kidnapped children, exploited and abused children. There's a wonderful thing about Americans. They discover a problem, they publicize it, they talk about it, and they come up with plans to deal with it. And they always succeed. Last year I challenged the private sector to assist us in combating the problem of missing children within a few short weeks. The Trailways Corporation formed a partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police. They started a program called Operation Home Free. In less than a year, over 3,500 children have been reunited with their families. And this was only the beginning. Innovative private sector initiatives are surging up all over the country. As you can see from this wonderful display behind us here, there's no limit to what can be done to combat the problem of missing and exploited children. The Woolworth Company is producing and posting pictures of missing children in their stores. Kmart and the Guardian Corporation will put pictures in over 43 million photo finishing bags each year. Pictures of missing children will appear on over 4 million tollway tickets in New York and on milk cartons around the nation. And the Mobile Corporation is working to display photographs in their stations in the Washington, D.C. area. These efforts have been valuable in locating thousands of children. Safeway supermarkets have been putting pictures of missing children on their grocery bags. Last month, two children were located within two days because of that effort. All of these companies are just part of a larger effort. Each week we find more and more organizations coming up with creative programs using their resources. Recently I was able to visit the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. And there we launched one of the first safe kids clubs that will now be found all along the root of the circus. All club members are fingerprinted and photographed and receive safety tips to follow. The media has also become involved not only reporting these programs but to participate. WVUE in New Orleans, for instance, just launched their child video print program which will videotape any children in the New Orleans area. It's important to note here that the federal government too is involved. The Department of Health and Human Services administers programs to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect as well as provide services to runaway and homeless youth. The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect continues to work on this problem with much cooperation from the private sector. As a result of their good works, I believe that a public awareness campaign that is being waged will bring us that much closer to ending the scourge of child abuse and child sexual abuse. If you go on with what has and has not been happening, these private sector initiatives are tremendous. But it just occurs to me that even though the abuse and exploitation of children is a big problem, it is simply no match for the heart and the commitment of the American people, of the people you hear in this garden today. God bless you all, and I'm proud and happy to be here to sign the proclamation and the National Child Safety Awareness Month of 1985 and the Executive Order. And now I'll write instead of talk. Some days are happier than others. Good morning. I think this does two things. It not only commemorates what we are celebrating here today, but it shows that together the public and private partnership can...