In the tough competitive markets around the world, America faces the great challenges and great opportunities.  And we know that we can succeed in the global economic arena of the 90’s.  But to meet that challenge we must make some fundamental changes, some crucial investments in ourselves.

Yes, we are going to invest in America.  This Administration is determined to encourage the creation of capital, capital of all kinds.  Physical capital:  everything from our farms and factories to our workshops and production lines, all that is needed to produce and deliver quality goods and quality services.  Intellectual, intellectual capital:  the source of ideas that spark tomorrow’s products.  And of course human capital:  the talented work force that we’ll need to compete in the global market.

And let me tell you, if we ignore human capital, if we lose the spirit of American ingenuity, the sprit that is the hallmark of the American worker, that would be bad.  The American worker is the most productive worker in the world.

We need to save more.  We need to expand the pool of capital for new investments that mean more jobs and more growth.  And that’s the idea behind the new initiative I call the Family Savings Plan, which I will send to Congress tomorrow.

We need to cut the tax on capital gains, encourage, encourage risk-takers, especially those in small businesses, to take those steps that translate into economic reward, jobs, and a better life for all of us.

We’ll do what it takes to invest in America’s future.  The budget commitment is there.  The money is there.  It’s there for research and development, R and D, a record high.  It’s there for our housing initiative, hope, H-O-P-E, to help everyone from first-time homebuyers to the homeless.  The money’s there to keep our kids drug-free, 70 percent more than when I took office in 1989.  It’s there for space exploration, and its there for education, another record high.

And one more, and one more thing.  Last fall at the education summit, the governors and I agreed to look for ways to help make sure that our kids are ready to learn the very first day they walk into the classroom.  And I’ve made good on that commitment by proposing a record increase in funds, an extra half billion dollars, for something near and dear to all of us:  Head Start.

Education is the one investment that means more for our future, because it means the most for our children.  Real improvement in our schools is not simply a matter of spending more.  It’s a matter of asking more, expecting more, of our schools, our teachers, of our kids, of our parents and of ourselves.  And that’s why tonight, and that’s why tonight, I am announcing America’s education goals, goals developed with enormous cooperation from the nation’s governors.  And if I might I’d like to say I’m very pleased that Governor Gardner and Governor Clinton, Governor Branstad, Governor Campbell, all of whom were very key in these discussion, these deliberations, are with us here tonight.