Plenary Session Transcripts

Governors Attending:

Guests:

Discussion Subjects:

• Economic Development and Commerce (EDC) - transportation; privatization; and telecommunications
• Human Resources (HR) - roundtable discussion on initiatives to reduce violence in schools
• Natural Resources (NR) - roundtable discussion on the politics of the environment
• 1995-96 Chair Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson's Initiative - Building a Stronger America: A Blueprint for States…and the Next Century
• Plenary Session Discussion Subjects - Addresses by President Bill Clinton and former Senator Bob Dole (Republican presidential candidate); the changing role of the media in elections; education; Latin America and Caribbean trade; "ideas that work" (sharing of state ideas for dealing with the issues of environment, crime and public safety, education reform, infrastructure, job creation, self-sufficiency, and tax reform); and welfare reform

Points of Interest:

President Bill Clinton told Governors that the congressional leadership had taken the concerns of Governors regarding welfare reform into account, adding funding for child care, including a work performance bonus for states moving people from welfare to work, removing the spending cap on Food Stamps, and eliminating cuts in the school lunch block grant, foster care, and Supplemental Security Income for disabled children.

Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, Republican candidate for President, argued in favor of welfare reform that discouraged out-of-wedlock births and promoted child support enforcement. He attributed youth crime to the breakdown of families and shared his belief that youth offenders should be treated as adults.

Richard Bennedetto of USA Today, Regina Blakely of CBS News, and Ray Suarez of National Public Radio talked with Governors about the changing role of the media in elections. Among the concerns discussed were whether the media:

• gave the public what they wanted rather than what they needed;
• emphasized style over content;
• failed to adequately cover the messages of politicians;
• spun what should be one-day stories into extended coverage; and
• dwelled on conflict surrounding an issue rather than the issue's substance

Ray Suarez offered the example that the media gave extensive coverage to the fact that President Clinton supported the welfare reform plan proposed by Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin but glossed over the content of the plan.

Governors also wanted to know why the networks had decided to reduce coverage of the upcoming national Democratic and Republican conventions. Regina Blakely said that cost was a factor, as was consideration of whether people would watch a Clinton-Dole matchup.

Panelists were asked whether they believed that ethical standards being applied to elected officials had increased or decreased over time. Richard Bennedetto responded that in addition to standards increasing, rumors were easier to confirm than had been the case in the past. Regina Blakely said that Watergate was a watershed event with respect to changing reporting standards. She added that a proliferation of talk-show programs made the reporting of behavioral matters more likely.

Memorable Quotes:

Regina Blakely of CBS News said: "...I can tell you one thing, when I was a reporter in Arkansas, one of the best compliments I ever got was when Governor Clinton and his primary opponent both called me on the same day and said, "I can't believe you said that about me." Both sides said the same thing, so...I knew I was trying to be balanced [in my reporting]."

Former Republican Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, who was running for President, said: "Juvenile crime is a hurricane just off our shore. And already we see the leading edge of mindless violence. And kids that once stole hubcaps now rape and murder, no fear of punishment, no respect for life, no guilt, and no mercy. Experts call them "super predators," and we're told that each generation is three times as violent as the one before. Thirty-five percent...of all violent crime is now committed by criminals under the age of twenty. And I think the response of our society must be rock-solid resolution—bipartisan, if you please. We cannot flinch, we cannot compromise with chaos, and as President I will work for the states to fight a real war, not just a war of rhetoric against juvenile crime...violent teen predators should be prosecuted and sentenced as adults...The records of violent juvenile criminals should not be erased when they become adults...the failure of families has left a moral and spiritual vacuum at the core of children's lives...In the long run, the best anti-crime program is the renewal of family life in America. This means we must transform a welfare system that undermines marriage, and encourages illegitimacy...this means we must applaud and encourage the return of men to their responsibilities as fathers."

Selected Policy Positions Adopted:
(1) Expressing state telecommunication priorities, including retaining state authority over intrastate communications; ensuring that states and localities retain the authority to manage public rights-of-way consistent with state laws and policies; and ensuring that states retain authority to set competitively neutral terms and conditions for doing business in a state to ensure quality services and to protect consumers; (2) calling on Congress and the Administration to work with states interested in privatizing infrastructure projects in identifying and removing unneeded federal barriers; (3) expressing the Governors' concerns about the inefficiency of a duplicative system of collecting taxes to support the unemployment/employment services system and about whether all trust funds were being used for the purposes for which they were collected; (4) calling on Congress to amend the Endangered Species Act to use enhanced science, provide adequate funding and incentives for private landowners, and rebuild public support for maintenance of biodiversity; (5) supporting expansion of the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP); (6) supporting greater collaboration between Head Start (with grants going directly to local agencies) and other child care and development programs at the state and local levels; (7) encouraging the federal government to monitor ties of host nation officials to drug trafficking organizations as a key factor in determining whether the President should decertify a potentially offending state for foreign aid; and (8) expressing support for the exemption of state and local electronic benefits transfer programs from a federal regulation (Regulation E) requiring states and localities to replace lost and stolen benefits—even those fully federally financed—at their expense.

Presidential Addresses: