Timeline of the Bill Clinton presidency (1998)

The following is a timeline of the presidency of Bill Clinton, from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 1998.

January January 2 – In a letter to congressional leaders, President Clinton noted the 1986 declaration of a national emergency between the United States and Libya and its lack of resolve. January 2 – In a letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, President Clinton sent a "report on progress toward a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question." January 3 – Recorded remarks of President Clinton discussing the new year and the Peace Corps were broadcast on the radio. January 5 – In an afternoon Cabinet Room appearance, President Clinton delivered remarks on the federal budget and answered questions from reporters on tobacco legislation and press coverage of his vacation. January 6 – President Clinton announced his proposal of "three new health care options that would give them the security they deserve" in the Roosevelt Room. January 6 – President Clinton issued a statement on the death of Sonny Bono. January 7 – President Clinton announced his proposal of "the single largest national commitment to childcare in the history of the United States" in the East Room. January 7 – President Clinton issued a statement on the death of Customs Senior Special Agent Manuel Zurita. January 8 – President Clinton attended a luncheon for the Democratic National Committee at a private residence in New York City. January 8 – In a statement, President Clinton said that "15 major city school systems have stepped forward to accept my challenge" after he requested national education standards and that those in favor of this policy such as himself should press forward until every school system does the same. January 8 – During an appearance at a New York City-based Democratic National Committee Dinner, President Clinton delivered an address and answered questions on the projected federal budget surplus, his initiative on race, Asian economics, Middle East peace and Iraq, medical research federal funding, support for the arts, and relations between the United States and Cuba. January 9 – President Clinton delivered an address at Mission High School in Mission, Texas. January 9 – President Clinton attended a reception for U.S. Representative Rubén Hinojosa at a private residence in McAllen, Texas. January 9 – President Clinton delivered remarks on the G.I. Bill and the HOPE scholarship in the Confederate Air Force Museum Hangar at the Brownsville South Padre International Airport in Brownsville, Texas. January 9 – President Clinton delivered remarks to high school students, teachers, and parents at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. January 9 – President Clinton attended a reception for Representative Sheila Jackson Lee in the ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston. January 10 Recorded remarks in which President Clinton discussed breakthroughs in science were broadcast on the radio. January 12 – President Clinton announced his "directing the Attorney General to strengthen" efforts associated with enforcing a bill he signed the previous year requiring prisoners throughout the United States be tested for drugs prior to receiving federal prison funds. He also outlined a three step necessity of aiding state expansion of "drug detection, offender testing, and drug treatment in their prisons by making it possible for them to use Federal funds for these purposes," strengthening state laws on drug trafficking with the enactment of "stiffer penalties for anyone who smuggles drugs into prison," and uncovering "how many of their prisoners are actually using drugs so that every year they can chart their progress in keeping drugs out of prisons and away from prisoners." President Clinton subsequently answered questions from reporters concerning Asian economics, Iraq, the sexual offender trafficking system, and legislative initiatives. January 12 – President Clinton issued a memorandum to the Attorney General on matters which he believed would reduce crimes related to drugs, and maintain order. January 12 – President Clinton attended an outreach program on his race initiative in the Cabinet Room. January 13 – In a statement, President Clinton announced the Department of Health and Human Services "is removing the moratorium because those new, tougher regulations are in place to root out fraud and abuse in the home health industry." January 13 – In a letter to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, President Clinton transmitted a report concerning the "progress toward a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question covering the period October 1 to November 30, 1997". January 13 – President Clinton transmitted a report to Congress concerning "developments since my last report of June 26, 1997, concerning the national emergency with respect to Libya that was declared in Executive Order 12543 of January 7, 1986". January 14 – President Clinton delivered an address in favor of a health care bill of rights bill and answered a question relating to Iraq in the Grand Foyer. January 27 – President Clinton delivered his annual State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. January 28 – President Clinton delivered an address on the need to prepare for the 21st Century through reforms in Social Security and growing the economy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. January 28 – President Clinton delivered an address at the La Crosse Convention Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. January 28 – President Clinton announced the nomination of Joseph W. Ralston for a second 2-year tour as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. January 28 – In a statement, President Clinton expressed satisfaction "that today Senators Chafee, Hatch, Snowe, Roberts, Specter, and Collins proposed a childcare package that, like mine, significantly increases childcare subsidies for poor children, provides additional tax relief to help low- and middle-income families pay for childcare, creates a tax credit for businesses that provide childcare to their employees, and improves State enforcement of health and safety standards." January 28 – President Clinton transmitted the Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the Senate for its advice and consent in a message. January 28 – President Clinton transmitted the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Latvia on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters to the Senate for its advice and consent in a message. January 28 – President Clinton transmitted "the text of a proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, with accompanying annex and agreed minute" to Congress in a message. January 28 – President Clinton transmitted "the text of a proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Swiss Federal Council Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, with accompanying agreed minute, annexes, and other attachments" to Congress in a message. January 29 – A recording of President Clinton noting the end of the holy month of Ramadan was broadcast on the U.S. Information Agency WORLDNET. January 29 – President Clinton delivered an address in Baruch Auditorium of the National Defense University. January 29 – In a statement, President Clinton condemned "the senseless violence that claimed the life of an off-duty police officer, and injured others, in Birmingham, Alabama" earlier in the morning and sent his thoughts and prayers. January 29 – President Clinton transmitted the Trademark Law Treaty done at Geneva to the Senate for its advice and consent in a message. January 30 – President Clinton addressed a United States Conference of Mayors Breakfast in the State Dining Room. January 30 – President Clinton addressed the 1997 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings in the East Room. January 30 – In a statement, President Clinton announced that the "United States has reached a landmark agreement with Japan that will dramatically increase air service between our countries", and said that the agreement "will expand a $10 billion market that services nearly 12 million passengers and carries well over 1 billion pounds of cargo each year." January 30 – President Clinton issued a memorandum to department and agency leadership on the use of technology to enhance learning and education. January 31 – A recording of President Clinton discussing climate change and economy was broadcast on the radio. January 31 – In a letter to congressional leaders, President Clinton reported his issuing of "Presidential Determination No. 97-35 (copy attached) and thereby exercised the authority to grant certain exemptions under section 6001(a) of the Act."

February February 2 – President Clinton delivered an address on the effectiveness of the 1999 Federal Budget in the East Room. February 2 – In a statement, President Clinton announced that "Secretaries Babbitt and Glickman are transmitting to Congress a list of sites that are particularly precious to Americans and deserving of our stewardship." February 3 – President Clinton delivered an address at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Main Auditorium of the Administration Building in Los Alamos, New Mexico. February 3 – President Clinton delivered remarks on the benefit the economy can make to the 21st Century and balancing the budget while at the Civic Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. February 3 – In a statement, President Clinton stated his support for "action to end the soft money raised by both political parties" and request members of the Federal Election Commission "step up to their responsibility and act, within their legal authority, to end the soft money system." February 3 – President Clinton issued a statement expressing condolences for the families of those killed in the Cavalese cable car disaster. February 3 – President Clinton issued a statement on the death of Roger Stevens. February 3 – President Clinton transmitted the annual report of the Railroad Retirement Board for Fiscal Year 1996 in a message to Congress. February 3 – President Clinton transmitted "an Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Latvia" to Congress in a message. February 3 – President Clinton transmitted "eight new deferrals of budgetary resources, totaling $4.8 billion" to Congress in a message. February 3 – In a letter to Speaker of the House Gingrich and President of the Senate Gore, President Clinton reported "on the status of efforts to obtain Iraq's compliance with the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)." February 3 – In a message to Congress, President Clinton reported "on the developments since my last report of July 31, 1997, concerning the national emergency with respect to Iraq". February 4 – President Clinton announced the High Hopes for College Initiative in the East Room. President Clinton recounts his own upbringing and the benefits of the program's enactment. February 5 – President Clinton attended the National Prayer Breakfast in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel. February 5 – President Clinton delivered remarks welcoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair in the Grand Foyer. February 5 – President Clinton answered questions from reporters on the investigation of the Independent Counsel, the administration's handling of Iraq, the peace process in the Middle East, the peace process in Northern Ireland, public responsibilities, and relations between the United States and the United Kingdom in the Oval Office.