President Clinton challenges America. Today, President Clinton will travel to New Hampshire, where he will highlight the challenges from his State of the Union address. He will focus on the progress being made on such issues as education technology, renewing our schools for the new century, expanding access to higher education, lifelong learning and school-to-work programs, community policing efforts, and small business growth. Each event will illustrate how the people of New Hampshire are working together in their communities to make the most of their own lives.

" Our second challenge is to provide Americans with the educational opportunities we will all need for this new century. . . Our fourth great challenge is to take our streets back from crime and gangs and drugs."
-- President Clinton, State of the Union Address,
January 23, 1996

Meeting our challenges. President Clinton will visit a number of sites across New Hampshire where some of the challenges he outlined are being met by local communities:

• In Concord, President Clinton will inaugurate the connection of the entire school district to the Internet. He will visit a computer-connected classroom and then speak to students, parents and teachers about his education technology initiative and college opportunity agenda.

• President Clinton will also meet with students and business leaders participating in a successful program funded by his School-to-Work Opportunities Act (enacted in 1994).

• President Clinton will speak with citizens in Manchester about their community policing program, funded in part by the President's 1994 Crime Bill, that has helped combat drug crime and violence.

Better off now than they were four years ago. The President's visit will also contrast the economically-distressed New Hampshire of 1992 with the strong economy that now exists:

• In 1992, the United States faced a jobless economy and escalating budget deficits.

• Today, with the President's policies, the American economy has created nearly 8 million new jobs with a combined unemployment and inflation rate at a 27-year low.

• For the people of New Hampshire, the unemployment rate has fallen from 7.6% to 3.2%, and the private sector has turned around, adding 33,400 jobs in just 34 months, after losing 44,200 during the previous four years.