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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 16, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I applaud the leadership and foresight shown by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today with its $1 billion pledge to provide full college scholarships for minority students in the fields of education, math, science and engineering. These landmark scholarships will help address important needs - the need to encourage young people to become teachers, the need to ensure that our children are well-prepared in math and science, and the need to open the doors of higher learning to all students. The Gates Millennium Scholarships remind us what a vital role philanthropies can play in American life - and how urgent it is for all of us to invest now in our nation's young people.

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