Speech by Secretary of Commerce William Daley.
Re: Permanent Normal Trade Relations Status for China (and the 2000 Census).
Date: March 15, 2000.
Source: Department of Commerce.

Remarks by Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley
National Press Club
March 15, 2000
Washington, DC
[As Prepared For Delivery]

One of the things Jack left out of his very kind introduction was the fact that I am also the longest serving Commerce Secretary this century -- all of 75 days. But I don't want to brag too much. The longest serving Commerce Secretary in history, was Herbert Hoover!

I am delighted to be here today, and I thank you for inviting me. And to our listeners on NPR, and C-Span viewers, I thank you for tuning in. I am very big on public service and civic responsibility, as you will hear in a minute.

And I can't think of a better way of serving the public than by airing these kind of public affairs programs. I want to spend most of my time talking about Census 2000. And then, bring you up to date on President Clinton's effort to get the green light from Congress to bring China into the World Trade Organization.

First, the news: America, open your mail.

Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service and Census workers, most every household -- some 120 million of them -- now has a Census 2000 form. What should you do with it? Don't throw it out. It's not junk mail. Fill it out, immediately! Send it back, immediately!

America is counting on you because how nearly $200 billion a year in taxpayer funds are allocated for education, for health care, for daycare, for roads -- is based on the Census.

This is the short version of the form -- which five out of six households will receive. It asks just seven questions, the shortest form in 180 years It asks for less information than is on your driver's license form.

People can use the mail, or the Internet to send short forms back. I am proud to announce that I plan to use the Internet. I am technically challenged, but I'm told it should take only about 5 minutes to do it. One out of every six households will get the long version. It asks questions on 34 subjects like education, and ancestry, and employment.

I am pleased to report as of this morning, over 3 million have been sent back -- 2.5 percent of what we need, so we have 97.5 percent to go. Of those received, nearly 10,000 came via the Internet. So things are running smoothly, and if this trend keeps up, we'll be ahead of our projections on the mail back rates. And our new high-tech equipment so far is running without any glitches. The optical scanners are working almost perfectly, with a 99.6 percent rate of accuracy.

Let me put this in perspective.

After nine years of planning, of finding addresses of conducting dry runs ... of figuring out how to make this the most accurate headcount ever -- the first Census of the new century is here.

We are in the midst of a huge job, and, in my opinion, the most important job government will do this year. The busiest place in America in the next few months will be your Census Bureau. We are in your neighborhoods now. We have opened more than 500 offices. Each office is hiring, and hiring and hiring -- mostly for part-time jobs lasting up to 10 weeks Before this is over, we will have about as many people working for Census as work for General Motors.

And we have a lot of helpers who don't work for the Census Bureau. Some who don't even work for the government. I call them our Census heroes. Why? Because they see this simple act as more than a job. They see it as their civic duty.

We have some of those heroes with us today, sitting out in the audience.

They sold lollipops and suckers after school, and then hit up 120 of their classmates at $5 a piece. With the money they bought a billboard to advertise to adults to please take the time to fill out their census forms. If anyone wants to see their billboard after the program, we have a smaller version out in the hallway.

Bill Henderson, the Postmaster General, is here at the head table. Without them, the mail would not be delivered properly, and on time.

In the e-mail world we're also getting some help from a well known letter carrier.

Let me read you the e-mail I just got.

"Dear Mr. Secretary: I just wanted you and the Postmaster General to know that I have received my 2000 Census form and I'm filling it out today. And I'm telling all my friends in Salt Lake City to do the same thing. And please let Census Director Prewitt know that our forms will be on the way immediately -- because we deliver. I hope everyone does the same thing so Census 2000 will be a slam dunk for America."

Sincerely,
The Mailman ... Karl Malone

I must confess I'm feeling a little guilty, knowing the Bulls beat the Jazz, twice for the NBA championship. So I really appreciate this from America's Mailman.

Ken Prewitt, whom many of you know, is also here today. He's in charge of Census 2000, and directs that army of hundreds of thousands of census takers. And he's 110 percent dedicated. We've been having trouble with the Census toll-free help line, as you may know. It's been jammed with calls. So, Ken will be tripling capacity by the end of the week.

And after reading about a frustrated man from Wadsworth, New York who couldn't get his form, Ken called him personally to fix the problem -- although I don't know if he can do that with every caller.

Representing all Ken's census takers is Brenda August. She's working on her fifth census. She started knocking on doors in 1960 for President Eisenhower. Today for President Clinton, she runs our very successful partnership program.

Let me say: with the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, it'sa challenge to find good people. We are offering good wages, up to $18.50 an hour. More than 2 million people have applied. In most cities, we are ahead of our recruiting goal, but in some areas, we could use more applicants -- and we have raised the wages to attract good people. If anyone listening today is looking to pick up some extra money, call your local census office.

This week, is Teach Census Week. I can't forget our teachers. Cheryl Tillman, also of Pinson, Alabama, who taught our sixth grade heros, is here representing teachers. And backing her up is her principal, Pamela Horton, also with us today.

We put 1.5 million teaching kits in the schools. I hope every child goes home and nags their parents to fill out the form. I went to a school in Washington a few weeks ago. We had Mayor Williams there, and John Podesta, Rep.Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Count Von Count of Sesame Street. For some reason, the kids were more interested in the Count than any of us!

Finally, one of our greatest heroes has been the press. I mean that sincerely. I'm not looking for any favors. The fact is, the press coverage has been excellent. I don't think I've ever seen as many op-eds, and as much in-depth and human interest reporting for any story in a long time. Of course we have taken our hits, as we should when mistakes were made. But in my opinion, you have told the story fairly, and effectively informed the public why the Census is so very important.

I was delighted to learn that beginning March 27th, newspapers will run the latest mail back rates for each state. This is the kind of civic responsibility we need.

This census, for the first time, is also running a paid ad campaign. In March and April, only Big Macs and Whoppers will be more dominant in ads than the census.

Early indications are all of this exposure is working. A news poll out this week showed 96% of the public planned to fill out and send back their Census questionnaire. That does not mean, we will see a 96% response rate. But we can always hope. Maybe if people are as sick of hearing about the census, as they were of Y2K, more of them will send back their forms.

If people are worried about their information being kept confidential, as the poll suggests, I can tell you the Census Bureau is barred by federal law from sharing your data with any other government agency. To anyone considering using the Internet, we have multiple firewalls to protect our internal networks. And we use sophisticated encryption software to guard against hackers.

Up to this point, Census 2000 has been our responsibility. But starting this week, the responsibility has shifted to the public. It is your turn, America. It's your turn to be civic-minded, and to fill out your Census forms and get them back to the Census Bureau. Don't be like the taxpayer who waits until the last minute to file. File your Census, immediately, so your communities are guaranteed the payoffs. There is no reason to wait.

The people of this great land have never let this country down. I do not believe they will this time -- not when we have heroes like our sixth graders from Alabama, on the J-O-B.

Now, let me turn to China.

First, I am pleased to announce that all former Commerce Secretaries have endorsed normal trade relations with China on a permanent basis. The former Secretaries of State did the same thing a few days ago. That makes this a truly bipartisan effort, as it should be.

As you know, President Clinton sent legislation to Congress last week, and we expect to see action first in the Senate Finance Committee. And we expect a final vote, by Memorial Day. There is no reason to wait longer.

Most of the arguments and facts are well known, and it doesn't do anyone any good to let this issue become embroiled in November election campaigns. So as we begin this legislative fight in earnest, I believe we need to think more about the big picture. Absolutely, the economics of this deal are very good for America. It's a no brainer.

But don't take my word for it, read the trade agreement we reached with China. We just released the text yesterday, and sent it to every member of Congress. It may take a lawyer to understand the fine print. Once people examine it, they will see it is a very positive deal for America.

It would open just about every market important to us: agriculture, telecommunications insurance, autos, you name it. All we have to do in exchange, is to make permanent the normal trade ties we've had with China for two decades -- instead of renewing them every year.

But it goes far beyond that. This debate is not just about another trade deal. China is our most important relationship with a foreign nation, on all levels, strategic and economic. China is a rising world power, with a 3,000 year history, and a quarter of humanity living within its borders. After many years of slumber, China is opening up to the outside world. So it is not to be ignored.

And in today's new global economy, we cannot ignore our role as a world leader. We don't want to go back to the old politics of trade, that threw up high tariff barriers as the way to deal with competition. It's a different world out there.

The bottom line is this: how do we see ourselves as a nation in the early days of a new century? What kind of message would we be sending to the rest of the world if we walk away? That would be a very negative message, that America no longer wants to lead; that we fear a country that has an economy just one-tenth the size of ours; and that would be a very sad day for America.

As President Clinton has said, we don't know what choices China will make about its economy or its political future. No one knows, not even the Chinese themselves. They too, are divided and debating this. But America has to be able to stand there and say, we took the steps to encourage them to go the right way. To do anything less would be irresponsible.

So as we push forward, and move to a vote this spring, I hope we make this more than the usual Inside-the-Beltway fight about trade. Let's take it to a higher level. President Clinton is doing that in his speeches and meetings with lawmakers. He has made this his top foreign policy issue. Vice President Gore will be very aggressive, also. And many of us in the Cabinet will be out there doing the same thing.

And to be credible with the American public, we'll be talking about the negatives of trade, not just the positives. Obviously, there can be down sides, and we should be talking about them, and developing better ways to fix them. Many Americans are with us. There was a recent poll showing Americans favor this deal with China 48 percent to 36 percent. I wish we had a majority, but look we're 12 points ahead, and gaining ground.

While we don't have the votes in pocket, I believe we will when the time comes. We are working very hard and will win this thing, one vote at a time.

Last night, President Clinton and I met again with a group of congressmen to hear their concerns. And it was a very productive session.

We truly live in a new age. We are watching an old China wanting to become a new China. We are seeing the spread of new technologies like the Internet tear down borders, and bring people closer together. And I hope we see old trade politics give way to a new trade politics, that is more than about jobs and economics. I hope this will be a discussion of how we view ourselves as a nation.

And I hope it's not just a story that the big papers cover. I hope it gets the intensity, and the depth that we are seeing with the Census story. Because in my opinion, after the presidential election, China will be this year's biggest news story.

Thank you very much.