THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 3, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
President Clinton announced today that he will award the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the Nation?s highest civilian honor, to 15 distinguished
individuals. The President will bestow the medals at a White House
ceremony on August 9, 2000.
James Edward Burke. Burke is the former chairman of Johnson & Johnson.
There, he successfully worked to restore consumer confidence in
over-the-counter medications in the aftermath of the Tylenol drug-tampering
scare. The current chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, he
has helped develop the National Youth Media Campaign and drive down drug
use among young people.
Senator John Chafee. Chafee served at Guadalcanal as a Marine lieutenant
and went on to fight in the Korean War. He later served in the Rhode
Island House of Representatives, as Governor of Rhode Island, as Secretary
of the Navy, and as a United States Senator. He was one of the architects
of the 1980 Superfund program and authored the Coastal Barrier Resources
Act. Among the other bills he promoted were the Clean Water Act of 1986,
the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, and the Oil Pollution Act of
1990. Senator Chafee, who passed away last year, was also a champion of
expanding health care for women, children, people with disabilities, and
people with mental illness and was a strong advocate for children in our
nation's foster care system.
General Wesley K. Clark, USA, Ret. General Clark graduated first in his
class from West Point. He served in Vietnam, helped to negotiate the
Dayton Peace Accords, and headed the U.S. European Command. As Supreme
Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, he led NATO to
victory in Kosovo.
Admiral William Crowe, USN, Ret. Four times the recipient of the Defense
Distinguished Service Medal, Admiral Crowe has more than fifty years of
government service. He served as commander of the Middle East Force in the
Persian Gulf, head of Navy Plans and Policy, Commander in Chief of the
United States Pacific Command, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He also was Chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, Ambassador
to the Court of St. James, and Chairman of two Accountability Review Boards
charged with investigating the bombings of the embassies in Nairobi and Dar
es Salaam.
Marian Wright Edelman. Currently president of the Children's Defense Fund,
Edelman began her career as an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund in 1964. She is the first African American woman admitted
to the Mississippi bar. In 1976, she became the chair of the board of
trustees of Spelman College, her alma mater -- the first African American
and second woman to hold that post. She also was the first African
American woman elected to the Yale University Corporation.
John Kenneth Galbraith. One of the leading economists of the 20th century
and the author of more than 30 books, Galbraith also held numerous
positions during a distinguished government career. During World War II,
he was largely responsible for the Office of Price Administration?s
impressive record in controlling inflation. An advisor to Presidents
Kennedy and Johnson, Galbraith also served as U.S. Ambassador to India
during the Kennedy Administration. He also was chairman of Americans for
Democratic Action from 1967-69 and taught economics at Harvard College for
nearly 30 years.
Monsignor George G. Higgins. Once described by Lane Kirkland as "the labor
movement?s parish priest," Monsignor Higgins has devoted himself for more
than 50 years to ensuring worker justice, and he has been honored several
times by major labor groups. He has also shaped papal encyclicals to
emphasize economic justice. He currently serves as an adjunct lecturer at
Catholic University.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. As field representative for the Council on
Racial Equality, founder of Operation PUSH, PUSH-Excel, PUSH for Economic
Justice, the National Rainbow Coalition, and The Wall Street Project,
Reverend Jackson has worked to expand opportunities for minorities while
encouraging youth to act responsibly. He was a Democratic Presidential
candidate in 1984 and 1988. He has negotiated several hostage releases,
most recently that of the three U.S. POWs held in the former Yugoslavia.
Mildred ?Millie? Jeffrey. A leading women's labor and Democratic party
activist, Jeffrey was the first female to direct a department of the United
Auto Workers. She worked for the UAW from 1945-1976, heading four
departments and serving as a special assistant to president Walter Reuther.
She also served on commissions during the Kennedy and Carter
administrations.
Dr. Mathilde Krim. Founder of the AIDS Medical Foundation in 1983, Dr.
Krim was one of the earliest leaders in the effort to find a cure for
HIV/AIDS. She has had a distinguished medical career, working on topics
ranging from cancer research to human genetics, and her foundation, which
joined with the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, has poured
millions of dollars into HIV/AIDS research efforts.
George McGovern. A war hero in World War II, McGovern was elected to the
House of Representatives in 1956. In the Senate, he chaired the Select
Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, where he led the expansion of the
Food Stamp Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and WIC. He was the
1972 Democratic nominee for President and currently is the U.S.
Representative to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, where he is
developing a plan to address the food needs of 500 million people -- half
the world?s underfed -- by 2015.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Senator Moynihan has served New York in
the United States Senate since 1977, establishing himself as a strong
supporter of Social Security and distinguishing himself through his service
on the Finance Committee. He is the only person to serve in the Cabinet or
sub-Cabinet (including two ambassadorial appointments) of four successive
presidential administrations, Kennedy through Ford.
Cruz Reynoso. From 1982 to 1987, Reynoso served as the first Latino
California Supreme Court justice, after having served six years on the
California Court of Appeals. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was
associate general counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
and led California Rural Legal Assistance, one of the pioneering programs
of the legal services movement. Reynoso has served as U.S. Delegate to the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and President Carter appointed
him to the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy. Reynoso
currently is in private law practice, teaches law, and serves as vice
chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
The Reverend Gardner C. Taylor. An author and early civil rights
supporter, Reverend Taylor was recognized by Time magazine as "the Dean of
the Nation?s black preachers." Under his leadership, his church - Concord
Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn - became the most prestigious black
church in America.
Simon Wiesenthal. A concentration camp survivor, Wiesenthal has devoted
his life to developing evidence that can be used to prosecute Nazi war
criminals. His most famous discovery was the material that led to the
capture, trial, and execution of Adolf Eichmann. A special branch of his
office documents the activities of right-wing groups, neo-Nazis, and
similar organizations. In 1977, he founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center,
which works to fight bigotry and anti-Semitism. President Carter presented
the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal to Wiesenthal in 1980, and Wiesenthal
received the French Legion of Honor in 1986.
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