But there are still more than 40 million Americans without health insurance, more than there were in 1993.  Tonight I propose that we follow Vice President Gore’s suggestion to make low income parents eligible for the insurance that covers their kids.  Together with our children’s initiative, we can cover nearly one quarter of the uninsured in America.

Again, I ask you to let people between 55 and 65—­the fastest growing group of uninsured—­buy into Medicare.  And let’s give them a tax credit to make that choice an affordable one.

When the Baby Boomers retire, Medicare will be faced with caring for twice as many of our citizens—­and yet it is far from ready to do so.  My generation must not ask our children’s generation to shoulder our burden.  We must strengthen and modernize Medicare now.

My budget includes a comprehensive plan to reform Medicare, to make it more efficient and competitive.  And it dedicates nearly $400 billion of our budget surplus to keep Medicare solvent past 2025; and, at long last, to give every senior a voluntary choice of affordable coverage for prescription drugs.

Lifesaving drugs are an indispensable part of modern medicine.  No one creating a Medicare program today would even consider excluding coverage for prescription drugs.  Yet more than three in five seniors now lack dependable drug coverage which can lengthen and enrich their lives.  Millions of older Americans who need prescription drugs the most pay the highest prices for them.

In good conscience, we cannot let another year pass without extending to all seniors the lifeline of affordable prescription drugs.

Record numbers of Americans are providing for aging or ailing loved ones at home.  Last year, I proposed a $1,000 tax credit for long-term care.  Frankly, that wasn’t enough.  This year, let’s triple it to $3,000—­and this year, let’s pass it.

And we must make needed investments to expand access to mental health care.  I want to thank the person who has led our efforts to break down the barriers to the decent treatment of mental illness:  Tipper Gore.

Taken together, these proposals would mark the largest investment in health care in the 35 years since the creation of Medicare—­a big step toward assuring health care for all Americans, young and old.

We must also make investments that reward work and support families.  Nothing does that better than the Earned Income Tax Credit, the EITC.  The “E” in “EITC” is about earning; working; taking responsibility and being rewarded for it.  In my first Address to you, I asked Congress to greatly expand this tax credit; and you did.  As a result, in 1998 alone, the EITC helped more than 4.3 million Americans work their way out of poverty and toward the middle class—­double the number in 1993.

Tonight, I propose another major expansion.  We should reduce the marriage penalty for the EITC, making sure it rewards marriage just as it rewards work.  And we should expand the tax credit for families with more than two children to provide up to $1,100 more in tax relief.