please print
---------------------- Forwarded by Elena Kagan/OPD/EOP on 01/06/99 07:47
AM ---------------------------
Paul J. weinstein Jr.
01/05/99 07:45:18 PM
Record Type: Record
To: See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
cc: Bruce N. Reed/OPD/EOP, Elena Kagan/OPD/EOP, Christopher C.
Jennings/OPD/EOP, Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
Subject: SOTU BOOK
Once again, we will prepare a "New Ideas" book that will explain in
greater detail the proposals presented by the President in his State of
the Union. Each idea in the SOTU will be explained in the book. One
paragraph (1/3 to 1/2 a page max) per idea. Cost, if relevant should be
included. This book is distributed to the press, Members of Congress,
public interest groups, and othergovernmental offices. The style of the
paragraphs should be the same as our one-pagers.
We need to have drafts of your one-pagers by COB Thursday, January 14th.
They will be reviewed by Elena, Bruce, and Chris over the weekend and go
to press on Monday. SOTU is the 19th. If you are not certain if an idea
will or will not be included, write it up if you think there is at least a
50% chance of it making it in the speech.
Attached is a draft of last year's document.
Message Sent
TO:~____~__~~--~--~----~--------------------------------~
Sarah A. Bianchi/OPD/EOP
Michael Cohen/OPD/EOP
Laura Emmett/WHO/EOP
Cathy R. Mays @ EOP @ LNGTWY
Leanne A. Shimabukuro @ EOP @ LNGTWY
Julie A. Fernandes/OPD/EOP
Thomas L. Freedman/OPD/EOP
Jose Cerda III/OPD/EOP
Andrea Kane/OPD/EOP
Jennifer L. Klein/OPD/EOP
Jeanne Lambrew/OPD/EOP
Tanya E. Martin/OPD/EOP
Nicole R. Rabner/WHO/EOP
Bruce N. Reed/OPD/EOP
Cynthia A. Rice/OPD/EOP
Christa Robinson @ EOP @ LNGTWY
Jonathan H. Schnur/OPD/EOP
Mary L. Smith/OPD/EOP
Todd A. Summers/OPD/EOP
Neera Tanden/WHO/EOP
J. Eric Gould/OPD/EOP
Devorah R. Adler/OPD/EOP
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Background on President Clinton's Agenda for the Nation
State of the Union Address
January 27, 1998
ECONOMY THAT OFFERS OPPORTUNITY Child Care Providers
Increase Scholarships for Training
Education for Child Care Providers
Invest in Research
Smaller Classes with Qualified Teachers to
Improve Reading in Grades 1-3 Increase Head Start and Double the Number of
Children Served by Early Head Start
Modern School Buildings to Improve Student
Learning Crime
Education Opportunity Zones: Helping Students
in Poor Communities Reach High Standards Juvenile Justice Crime Bill
Expanding Access to Safe After-School Care -- Preventing Under 21 s from buying guns
Mentoring: Early Intervention to Promote College -- New Prosecutors and Probation Officers
Attendance -- Tough, New Sentences on Drug Dealers
-- Funding to Keep Schools Open Later and
Leading the Global Economy Promote Anti-Truancy Initiatives and Curfews
Community Economic Adjustment Initiative Foreign Policy
Fast Track Trading Authority
Africa Trade Initiative NATO Enlargement
Child Labor Securing the Peace in Bosnia
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Training Strengthening the Biological Weapons
Convention
GI Bill for Workers U.S. Arrears to the United Nations
A SOCIETY ROOTED IN RESPONSIBILITY A NATION THAT LIVES BY COMMUNITY
Moving People from Welfare to Work Political ReformlReinventing Government
Welfare-to-Work Housing Vouchers Free Television Time
Increasing Child Support Collections Enact Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform
Falling Welfare Case loads IRS Reform
Business Welfare-to-Work Commitments
Community Empowerment
Health Care
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Consumer Bill of Rights and Genetic Screening Second Round of Empowerment Zones
Protections "Play-By-the-Rules" Homeownership Proposal
Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to
Homeownership Zones
65 to Access Health Insurance
21st Century Research Fund Environmental Protection
Tobacco Climate Change initiative
Clean Water Initiative
Passing Comprehensive Bipartisan Tobacco
Food Safety
Legislation
Civil Rights
Child Care
Reforming and Strengthening the EEOC
Double the Number of Children Receiving
Child Care Subsidies to More than Two Million THE MILLENIUM PROJ~CT
Increase Tax Credits for 3 Million Families
Provide New Business Tax Credits Technology
Promote Early Learning
Provide After-School Care A Family-Friendly Internet
for up to Half a Million Children Making the Internet a Global Free-Trade Zone
Step Up Enforcement of State Health Cloning
and Safety Standards
Facilitate Background Checks on Culture
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ENTITLEMENT REFORM
Reserve Surplus until Social Security is Reformed
Over the next two years, President Clinton is finnly committed to strengthening Social Security for the
21 st century. He therefore proposes that we should not spend any ofthe projected budget surpluses on
anything else until we have refonned Social Security. This proposal, which continues the fiscally
responsible policies that have been the hallmark of this Administration, is intended to reserve the
surpluses in case they are needed for Social Security refonn.
EDUCATION
Small Classes with Qualified Teachers to Improve Reading in Grades 1-3
President Clinton is proposing a $12.4 billion initiative over 7 years ($7.3 billion over 5 years) to help
local schools provide small classes with qualified teachers in the early grades. This initiative will help
ensure that every child receives personal attention, learns to read independently, and gets a solid
foundation for further learning. The new initiative will reduce class size from a nationwide average of
22 in grades 1-3 to an average of 18, providing funds to help local school districts hire an additional
100,000 well-prepared teachers. The initiative will also provide funds to states and local school
districts to test new teachers, develop more rigorous teacher testing and certification requirements, and
train teachers in effective reading instruction practices. School districts will be accountable for
demonstrating gains in reading achievement. These steps will help ensure that first through third grade
students are receiving high-quality reading instruction in smaller classes from competent teachers.
Modern School Buildings to Improve Student Learning
For students to learn, schools must be well-equipped and be able to accommodate smaller class sizes.
To address these and other critical needs, President Clinton is proposing federal tax credits to pay
interest on nearly $22 billion in bonds to build and renovate public schools. This initiative provides
more than double the assistance of the Administration's earlier school construction proposal, which
covered halfthe interest on an estimated $20 billion in bonds. The tax credits will cost the Treasury $5
billion over 5 years, and more than $10 billion over ten years. Of the $22 billion in bond authority,
nearly $20 billion for a new School Modernization Bonds. Half of this bond authority will be allocated
to the 100 school districts with the largest number of low-income children, and the other half will be
allocated to the states.
Education Opportunity Zones:
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Helping Students in Poor Communities Reach High Standards
This initiative will strengthen public schools and help students master the basic and advanced skills
where the need is greatest: in high-poverty urban and rural communities where low expectations, too
many poorly prepared teachers, and overwhelmed school systems create significant barriers to high
achievement. The Education Department will select approximately fifty high-poverty urban and rural
school districts with: (1) a demonstrated commitment to use high standards and tests as tools to identify
and provide help to students, teachers and schools who need it; (2) a strategy to prevent students from
falling behind by ensuring quality teaching, challenging curricula, and extended learning time; (3)
programs to end social promotion and tum around failing schools; and (4) evidence of improved student
achievement. Added investments in these communities will accelerate their progress and provide models
of successful, standards-based reform for the nation. The President's initiative will invest $200 million in
FY99, and $1.5 billion over 5 years, in raising achievement and sharing lessons learned with school
districts around the country.
Early Intervention to Promote College Attendance
President Clinton wi II soon announce a long-term effort to bring college opportunity to children in high-
poverty areas by providing their families with early information about financial aid and appropriate
academic preparation, as well as mentoring and other support services to help the children stay on track
through high school graduation and into college.
LEADING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Fast Track
America needs fast track to continue to create higher-paying jobs for more Americans. Without it,
America's role as the largest exporter in the world will be put in jeopardy. And with new markets
opening around the world, it is more important than ever to give the President traditional trade authority
to break down trade barriers that put American products made by American workers at a disadvantage.
Fast track legislation is essentially an agreement between Congress and the president on how Congress
will consider United States trade agreements negotiated by the President. As part of that deal, the
President agrees to extensively consult and coordinate with Congress throughout trade negotiations. In
return, Congress votes on legislation implementing trade deals within a fixed period oftime, on a up or
down basis, and with no amendments. Every president since 1974 has enjoyed fast track authority.
Africa Trade Initiative
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bring the promise of21st century prosperity to African nations that are prepared to undertake the
hard work of reform. This legislation will introduce a new era of prosperity and partnership
between African reformers and the United States, expanding trade opportunities for African and
American workers, farmers and companies, and hope and opportunity for our children. This
legislation will encourage African nations to undertake sound growth policies by expanding trade
and encouraging investment.
Child Labor
This initiative will make the U.S. a world leader in the fight to reduce child labor. The initiative
focuses on reducing the most intolerable forms on child labor --"slavery" through forced or
indentured labor, work by very young children, and work in dangerous conditions -- by increasing
the nation's contribution to the International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC)
from $3 million to $30 million. The proposal also calls for additional agents for the U.S. Customs
Service to enforce the ban on the importation of goods made with forced or indentured child labor,
with a particular focus on rugs from South Asia. On the domestic front, the proposal includes a $50
million increase in migrant education to serve 100,000 more children of migrant farm workers and
a $9 million increase in the Department of Labor budget to enforce U.S. child labor laws --
especially in the agricultural sector.
Community and Economic Adjustment Initiative
To help communities compete in a global economy, the Community and Economic Adjustment
Initiative will borrow a page from the Administration's successful adjustment effort for base
closure communities. Modeled after the Defense Department's highly respected Office of Economic
Adjustment, the Office of Community and Economic Adjustment (OCEA) will provide grants and
other assistance to communities to develop an economic adjustment strategy. The President will
propose $50 million in additional community adjustment assistance as part of the Commerce
Department's Economic Development Administration's (EDA) budget. This will allow us to do
more for communities that have suffered through sudden and severe economic dislocation, such as
plant closings. As OEA has done for base closure communities, OCEA will closely with the
Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and other federal
agencies to make communities aware of all available federal resources and to provide a coordinated
Administration response.
TRAINING
Reform of the Federal Job Training System
The President renewed his call for Congressional action to reform the job training system. In his 1995 .
G.I. Bill for America's Workers, he called for individual empowerment through skills grants,
streamlining through One Stop Career Centers, and better results through tough performance standards.
The House has passed legislation based on his vision. The Workforce Investment Partnership Act has
bipartis~ support and is under consideration in the Senate.
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MOVING PEOPLE FROM WELFARE TO WORK
Welfare to Work Housing Vouchers
The President's budget will provide $283 million in FY99 for 50,000 new housing vouchers for welfare
recipients who need housing assistance to get or keep ajob. Families could use these housing vouchers to
move closer to a new job, to reduce a long commute, or to secure more stable housing to eliminate
emergencies that keep them from getting to work every day on time. These vouchers, awarded to
communities on a competitive basis, will give people on welfare a new tool to make the transition to ajob
and succeed in the work place. The proposal will complement the President's $100 million a year welfare
to work transportation plan, part of his NEXTEA bill, which will help welfare recipients make their daily
commutes.
Increasing Child Support Collections
President Clinton's crackdown on deadbeat parents is paying off: child support collections rose to a
record $13 billion in 1997, an increase of 63 percent since 1992. In the State ofthe Union, the President
set a goal of increasing collections to $20 billion by the year 2000.
Falling Welfare Caseloads
The President announced that we have met -- two years ahead of schedule -- the challenge he made
in last year's State of the Union to move two million more Americans off of welfare by the year
2000. New caseload numbers show that welfare caseloads fell by 4.3 million since President Clinton
took office, two million more than the 2.25 million decline he announced last year. The new figures,
from September 1997, show 9.8 million Americans on welfare, down from 14.1 million in January 1993-
- a drop of 30 percent.
Business Welfare to Work Commitments
In his State of the Union address last year, the President challenged the business community to create jobs
so that people can move from welfare to work. Today, nearly 3,000 companies have accepted the
President's challenge and joined a new national effort, called the Welfare to Work Partnership, which was
launched at the White House in May. Now, the President has challenged thousands more companies to
join the Partnership to give even more people a chance to work their way off welfare.
HEALTH CARE
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Protecting Patients Through a Consumer Bill of Rights and Genetic Screening Protections
The President called on Congress to pass federally enforceable consumer health care protections before it
adjourns this fall. This Health Care Bill of Rights should contain a range of protections, including
guaranteed access to needed health care specialists to ensure that patients are provided appropriate
high quality care, access to emergency room services when and where the need arises, an assurance that
medical records are confidential, and access to a meaningful internal and external appeals process for
consumers to resolve their differences with their health plans and health care providers. The
nation's health care system has changed dramatically, with more than 100 million Americans now
in managed care plans. This legislation will ensure that whether Americans have traditional health
insurance or managed care, they are assured quality care. And to ensure that new advances in
genetics are used to improve health rather than to discriminate, the President has called for
legislation prohibiting the use of genetic screening to discriminate in health insurance and
employment.
Creating a Historic "21st Century Research Fund"
With Unprecedented Increases in Biomedical Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Scientists are on the cusp of important new breakthroughs in biomedical research, which could
revolutionize the way medical experts understand, treat, and prevent some of our most devastating
diseases. To promote this progress, the President's budget contains a historic up front investment in
biomedical research -- a 1.15 billion increase in FY 1999 -- and proposes an increase in NIH funding of
more than 50 percent over the next five years. Under the President's proposal, the NIH will devote over
$20 billion to biomedical research in 2003.
Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to 65 to Obtain
Health Insurance, Including Buying Into Medicare
Americans ages 55 to 65 are one ofthe most difficult-to-insure popUlations: they have less access to and a
greater risk of losing employer-based health insurance; and they are twice as likely to have health
problems as the population generally. The President's proposal gives this vulnerable population three
new ways to gain access to health insurance by: (1) allowing Americans ages 62 to 65 to buy into
Medicare, through a premium that ensures that this policy is self-financed; (2) assisting vulnerable
displaced workers 55 and over by offering those who have involuntarily lost their jobs and health care
coverage a similar Medicare buy-in option; and (3) giving Americans 55 and over who have lost their
retiree benefits access to their former employers' health insurance.
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Passing Comprehensive Bipartisan Tobacco Legislation That Reduces Teen Smoking and Changes
the Way Tobacco Companies Do Business
Every day 3,000 young people start smoking and 1,000 of them will die prematurely from a tobacco-
related disease. The President called on Congress to pass comprehensive national bipartisan legislation
that includes five key principles: (1) it must mandate the development of a comprehensive plan to reduce
teen smoking, including raising the cost of cigarettes by $1.50 per pack over the next 10 years as
necessary to meet youth smoking targets; (2) it must affirm the FDA's full authority to regulate tobacco
products; (3) it must include measures to hold tobacco companies accountable, especially for marketing
products to children; (4) it must include concrete measures to improve public health, from investing in
research to reducing second-hand smoke to expanding smoking cessation; and (5) it must protect the
financial well-being of tobacco farmers and their communities from the loss of income caused by our
efforts to reduce smoking.
CHILD CARE INITIATIVE
Double the Number of Children Receiving Child Care Subsidies
to More than Two Million
The President proposed to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant to help working
families struggling to meet the costs of child care. This block grant is the primary federal subsidy
program to pay for child care, enabling low-income parents to work. Funds are distributed by
formula to the states to operate direct child care subsidy programs, as well as to improve the
quality and availability of care. The President's initiative will more than double the number of
children served from the one million served in FY 95 (the latest year for which data are available).
The President's budget will increase funding for the block grant by $7.5 billion (plus a state match)
over five years, which will enable states to provide subsidies for more than two million children by
2003.
Increase Tax Credits for Child Care for Three Million Working Families
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides tax relief to taxpayers who pay for the care of
a child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a
percentage of the taxpayer's employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care, with
the amount ofthe credit depending on the taxpayer's income. The President's proposal increases
the credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax cut of $358 for
these families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with incomes below 200%
of poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) that claim the maximum allowable child care expenses.
The President's budget will include $5.2 billion over five years to expand the Child and Dependent
Care Tax Credit for three million working families.
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The child care initiative includes a tax credit to businesses that provide child care services for their
employees, by building or expanding child care facilities, operating existing facilities, training child
care workers, or providing child care resources and referral services. The credit covers 25% of
qualified costs, but may not exceed $150,000 per year. The President's budget will include
approximately $500 million over five years for these tax credits.
Promote Early Learning
Research shows that children's experiences in the earliest years are critical to their development
and future success. The President's proposed Early Learning Fund provides challenge grants to
communities (distributed by states) to improve early learning and the quality and safety of child
care for children ages zero to five. Funds may be used for the following activities: providing basic
training to child care providers (including first aid and CPR); connecting individual child care
providers to centers for education and support; assisting child care providers to meet accreditation
and licensing requirements; linking child care providers with health professionals, and supporting
the inclusion of young children with special needs in quality child care settings; reducing group sizes
and child-to-staff ratios; and providing home visits, parent education, and consumer education
about child care. The President's Early Learning Fund builds on state initiativ"es such as North
Carolina's Smart Start, which helps North Carolina's children enter school healthy and ready to
succeed. The President's budget will include $3 billion over five years for this fund.
Increase Head Start and Double the Number of Children Served by Early Head Start
Head Start provides early, continuous and comprehensive child development and family support serVices,
preparing children for a lifetime ofleaming and development. The President's budget will invest an
additional $3.8 billion over five years to reach his goal of serving one million children by 2002, and
doubling the number of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start to 80,000.
Step Up Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards
Building on the military's model child care program, this proposed initiative will fund state efforts
to improve licensing systems and enforce child care health and safety standards, including by
increasing unannounced inspections of child care settings. The President's budget will include
$500 million over five years for this program.
Facilitate Background Checks on Child Care Providers
On the day of the White House Conference on Child Care, the President transmitted to Congress
the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, which will facilitate effective background
checks on child care providers by eliminating state law barriers to sharing criminal history
information for non-criminal purposes. Although the vast majority of child care providers are
dedicated to the teaching and nurturing of children, one tragedy in child care is too many.
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for this responsibility.
Increase Scholarships and Training for Child Care Providers
At the White House Conference on Child Care, the President proposed establishing a Child Care
Provider Scholarship Fund to enable states to provide scholarship funds to students working
toward a child care credential. Eligible child care workers must commit to remaining in the field
for at least one year for each year of assistance received and will earn increased compensation or
bonuses when they complete their course work. The President proposed a federal investment of
$250 million over five years, which will support 50,000 scholarships per year. The President is also
proposing to expand the Department of Labor's Child Care Apprenticeship Program to fund the
training of child care providers.
Invest in Research
Because too little is known about our child care system, the President's budget will increase
support for data, research, and evaluation. This research fund will also support a National Center
on Child Care Statistics and a child care hotIine that parents can call to get information about how
to find child care in their communities and how to identify appropriate, quality care for their
children. In addition, the research fund will support demonstration projects to test approaches to
help new parents who choose to stay home to care for their newborns or newly adopted children.
The President's budget will include $150 million over five years for this fund.
Provides After-School Care for up to Half a Million Children a Year
The President proposes a dramatic expansion ofthe 21 st Century Community Learning Center Program
to provide start-up funds (with a local match) to school-community partnerships to establish or expand
before- and after-school programs for school-age children. The program increases the supply of after-
school care in a cost-effective manner by directing most funds to programs that use public schools and
their existing resources, such as computers, gymnasiums, and sports equipment. The program also
includes a set-aside to fund programs run by community organizations. The President's budget will
request $800 million of new money for this program, for a total of$1 billion over five years.
CRIME
Juvenile Crime Strategy
This initiative recognizes the threat juvenile crime poses to our communities and calls on Congress to pass
a comprehensive anti-gang and youth violence strategy. The President's proposed legislation targets gangs
and violent juveniles by (1) funding for new prosecutors ($100 million) and probation officers ($60
million); (2) helping our kids to stay gun- and drug-free by preventing violent juveniles from buying
guns when they turn 21; (3) enacting tough new sentences to punish adults who sell drugs to kids and
use kids to sell drugs; (4) helping kids to stay in school, off drugs, and out of trouble with new funding to
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President's Child Care Initiative increases five-fold current funding for Department of Education-sponsored after
school programs.
AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD
NATO Enlargement
Europe's stability and America's security are closely linked. The President's call for enlarging the NATO
alliance strengthens the alliance's core mission of collective defense and helps meet new threats such as
regional instability. Enlargement furthers other US objectives including: Encouraging states in the region
to settle border and ethnic disputes with neighbors; strengthen civilian control of their militaries; and
increase tolerance for ethnic and religious minorities. NATO's enlargement, combined with the
Partnership for Peace program, the NATO-Russia Founding Act and the NATO-Ukraine partnership will
help erase the outdated Cold War divisions and build, for the first time, an undivided, democratic, and
peaceful Europe.
Securing the Peace in Bosnia
The United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability in Bosnia and a compelling interest in the
implementation ofthe Dayton peace accords. After 46 months ofthe worst war in Europe since WWII,
24 months of implementing peace have helped put Bosnia on the path to lasting peace and stability.
Progress on implementation was made possible because of prudent military support. We can now see the
point where civil implementation and peace can be self-sustaining -- but Bosnia's fragile peace still needs
the support of American and allied troops when the current NATO mission ends in June. The President
still must approve a detailed action plan being prepared by NATO military authorities after a full review
of all options. The President will insist that this action plan have the following elements: an achievable
mission tied to clear benchmarks, not a deadline; force must be able to protect itself; the U.S. must retain
command; European allies must shoulder their full share of responsibility; costs must be manageable; and
the plan must have substantial support of the Congress and the American people.
Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction Program (WMD)
President Clinton made clear that Iraq's efforts to develop nu~lear, chemical and biological weapons are
unacceptable. U.N. inspectors have done a remarkable job -- destroying more of Iraq's WMD potential
than was destroyed during the Gulf War itself. But Saddam is now refusing to allow inspectors to
complete their mission. All options are on the table to make sure Iraq does not pursue their WMD
program with impunity and threaten the international community.
Biological Weapons
President Clinton announced tonight that the United States would lead the effort to erect stronger
international barriers against the proliferation and use of biological weapons. Under this new initiative,
the United States will seek to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) by requiring nations
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for Biological weapon purposes and agree to a tough international inspection system including both
voluntary and mandatory inspections.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The President's call for Senate ratification ofthe CTBT will allow America to maintain a safe and reliable
nuclear deterrent while constraining the proliferation of nuclear material and technology to rogue states'
weapons programs. CTBT will improve America's ability to detect and deter nuclear explosive testing.
CTBT's global network of sensors will strengthen America's ability to monitor nuclear explosive testing
across the globe, as well as deter any nation from believing it can conduct a nuclear explosive test
undetected by the international community.
u.s. Arrears to the United Nations
The President also highlighted the need for prompt action on the payment of U.S. arrears to the United
Nations. The failure to pay undermines our ability to reform the U.N. and hinders our leadership of that
organization at very time the U.N. is working to prevent Iraq from threatening neighbors and the world
with weapons of mass destruction. We also need to give the International Monetary Fund the capacity to
help prevent global financial crises. Now, more than ever, our security at home and our interests abroad
demand that America meet our international obligations, sharpen the tools to improve the stability ofthe
world economy, and increase our leverage in international organizations.
A NATION THAT LIVES BY COMMUNITY
POLITICAL REFORM/REINVENTING GOVERNMENT
Free Television Time
Spending on congressional campaigns has increased more than three times the rate of inflation in the last
decades and spending on television is the primary reason. In 1972, candidates spent $25 million for
political ads; in 1996, they spent $400 million. In his State of the Union, President Clinton announced
that will request that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) require broadcasters to give
candidates for Federal office free time as a condition of receiving a new, lucrative license for digital
television. It is time to update broadcasters' public interest obligations to meet new political and
technological realities.
Enact Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform
The President remains committed to the enactment of bipartisan campaign finance reform. He is pleased
that the leadership in Congress has agreed to schedule a vote this Spring on the McCain-Feingold and
Shays-Meehan reform bills. But a vote on these bills is not enough. In his State of the Union the
President challenged Congress to enact real reform this year. Acceptable campaign finance reform
legislation must meet five criteria: 1) it must be bipartisan; 2) it must be comprehensive; 3) it must reduce
the amount of money that is raised and spent on federal elections; 4) it must help level the playing field
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IRS Reform
President Clinton is strongly committed to reforming the IRS. This spring the Administration will
launch the first of 33 Citizen Advocacy Panels. These new panels will be locally-based,
independent boards of citizens established to monitor how local IRS offices treat taxpayers and
help taxpayers get their problems solved. These new panels are part of the new era of customer
service underway at the IRS. The successful new IRS problem solving days, which have helped
thousands of taxpayers get relief, will continue around the country on a monthly basis.
Additionally, as of the first of the year, IRS phones are now operating 16 hours a day, six days a
week. For the first time, IRS offices will be open Saturday mornings during the tax filing season --
March through mid-April-- to provide taxpayers a convenient opportunity to walk-in and get any
questions answered. Also, the IRS expects this year to expand its award-winning Telefile program.
This innovative program allowed 4.7 million taxpayers to file their returns with a quick average 10
minute phone call last year.
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Since its creation in 1986, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has given states tax
credits of $1.25 per capita to allocate to developers of affordable housing. Even though
building costs have increased 40 percent in the last decade, the amount of the credit has not
been adjusted for inflation. Therefore, President Clinton and Vice-President Gore propose to
increase the cap on the LIHTC from $1.25 per capita to $1.75 per capita - restoring the value
of the credit to its 1986 level. Estimates suggest that the LIHTC currently helps build
80,000-90,000 affordable housing units each year. The President and Vice President's proposal
to increase the cap by 40 percent will create an additional 160,000-180,000 new rental housing
units for low-income American families over the next five years. This proposal will cost $1.6
billion over five years.
Empowerment Zones
Building on the Administration's successful first round of Empowerment Zones which has
helped spur the creation of jobs and private investment in America's distressed communities,
the President's budget includes a request for $1.7 billion to support flexible grants to 20 new
Empowerment Zone designations. The funding will be made available to the designated
communities over a 10 year period. The 15 urban designations will be funded at $100 million
each; and the five rural designations will be funded at $40 million each. The Departments of
Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture will announce a competition this Spring that
will lead to the designation of the 20 new Empowerment Zones by December 1998.
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The President's FY99 budget provides funds for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
to start a new initiative to help provide the opportunity of homeownership to responsible
families with a perfect rental history. Under this initiative, we will help 10,000 lower-income--
and often minority -- families become homeowners. While the method of helping each family
buy their own home will differ, responsible families we will be provided homeownership
counseling, flexible assistance for downpayment or closing costs, second mortgage loans for
debt reduction, or rehabilitation loans.
Homeownership Zones
The FY99 budget includes funds for Homeownership Zones to be used by communities to
reclaim abandoned and distressed neighborhoods through the creation of large-scale
developments of owner-occupied single-family homes. Funds could be used for property
acquisition, housing construction, housing rehabilitation, demolition, site preparation, homeownership
counseling, relocation, housing marketing, activities to ensure fair housing, and other activities
essential to homeownership.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change Initiative
Following the historic agreement reached in Kyoto in December 1997, and as part ofthe
President's and Vice President's ongoing efforts to address climate change, the President is
proposing a dramatic new program of tax cuts and R&D aimed at cutting greenhouse gas
emissions. The proposed package contains tax cuts to promote energy efficiency and additional
research and development spending covering the four major carbon-emitting sectors of the
economy (buildings, industry, transportation, and electricity), plus carbon removal and
sequestration, Federal facilities, and cross-cutting analyses and research. This package
complements the other elements of the Administration's climate change plan, which include
working with industry to develop sector-by-sector initiatives to cut emissions, incorporating
energy efficiency goals into Federal procurement and energy use, and restructuring the
electricity industry. These efforts strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving
efficiency and reducing costs to the consumer. They provide a solid step on the way to meeting
the goals of the Kyoto Agreement.
Clean Water Initiative
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communities curb polluted runoff from farms and city streets, reducing exposure to harmful
organisms and toxic contaminants in drinking water and fish, and promoting community-based
watershed management in partnership with landowners and affected industries. The initiative targets
the 40 percent of the nation's waterways still unsafe for fishing and swimming. It provides substantial
new resources to assist states in implementing these programs and to create incentives for farmers to
adopt practices that protect water quality. .
Food Safety Initiative
The Clinton Administration launched a new food safety initiative last year to put in place new
science-based preventive systems to improve the safety of seafood, meat, and poultry and begin work
on a new early warning system to help detect and respond to outbreaks of food borne illness. Our
budget will seek an even more substantial increase in funding to further enhance food safety. The
resources will go to a variety of initiatives, including: giving FDA authority to prevent the
importation of produce from countries without safety precautions equivalent to our own; hiring FDA
inspectors to improve the safety of fruits and vegetables, both domestic and imported; developing
new ways for federal inspectors to detect foodborne illnesses in meat and poultry and determine the
source of contamination; improving educational outreach on proper food handling; and further
expanding our early warning system and strengthening state surveillance activities for foodborne
illnesses.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Reforming and Strengthening the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
This initiative expands the EEOC's ADR program over three years to allow as many as 70 percent of
all complainants to choose mediation, rather than the lengthy process of investigation and litigation.
In the first year, the EEOC will provide ADR in a projected 16,000 cases -- 20 percent of all
incoming cases and double the number currently sent to mediation. In addition, through a
combination of increased use of mediation, improved information technology, and an expanded
investigative staff, the EEOC will reduce the average time it takes to resolve a private sector
complaint from over 9 months to 6 months, and reduce the backlog of cases from 64,000 to 28,000 by
the year 2000. The proposal provides $279 million for the EEOC for FY99 -- $37 million or 15
percent more than the enacted 1998 budget.
THE MILLENIUM PROJECT
TECHNOLOGY
A Family-Friendly Internet
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President Clinton and Vice President Gore support a strategy to protect children and create a
safe, educational environment on the Internet that is consistent with our First Amendment
values. This strategy includes cracking down on obscenity, child pornography, and online
stalking, and encouraging the private sector to develop filtering and blocking technology for
parents and teachers that is widely available and effective. This fall, the Administration will
join the private sector and non-profit groups to support "Internet Teach-Ins" at schools and
libraries, which are designed to increase awareness of safe on-line behavior for children and
access to good content
Making the Internet a Global Free-Trade Zone
The Administration is committed to creating an environment in which global electronic
commerce can flourish, so that every computer will be a window open to every business, large
and small. Over the next several years, Internet commerce could increase to hundreds of
billions of dollars per year, boosting U.S. exports and creating new opportunities for small
start-up companies. President Clinton has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to work with
foreign governments to secure agreement that all products and services delivered across the
Internet and all equipment from which the Internet is built -- be free from tariffs.
Cloning
President Clinton has proposed legislation banning the cloning of human beings. The President's
legislative proposal prohibits for five years the use of somatic cell nuclear technology to create a
human being. The legislation directs the National Bioethics Advisory Commission to report to the
President in four and half years on whether to continue the ban. The proposal is carefully worded
to ensure that it will not interfere with beneficial biomedical and agricultural activities. In March
1997, the President imposed a ban on the use of federal money for cloning human beings.
Save America's Treasures
Many of our most important cultural treasures -- such as the Star Spangled Banner, the Declaration of
Independence, and the Bill of Rights -- are seriously at risk. "Save America's Treasures" is a three year,
$150 million initiative that will help stimulate support for the Nation's most important preservation
priorities. The funds will be administered by the Department of Interior under the authority of the
National Historic Preservation Act. Half of the money will support preservation projects identified at the
national level -- the other half will go to support state and local priorities.
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Background on President Clinton's Agenda for the Nation
State of the Union Address
January 27, 1998
ECONOMY THAT OFFERS OPPORTUNITY Child Care Providers
Increase Scholarships for Training
Education for Child Care Providers
Invest in Research
Smaller Classes with Qualified Teachers to
Improve Reading in Grades 1-3 Increase Head Start and Double the Number of
Children Served by Early Head Start
Modern School Buildings to Improve Student
Learning Crime
Education Opportunity Zones: Helping Students
in Poor Communities Reach High Standards Juvenile Justice Crime Bill
Expanding Access to Safe After-School Care -- Preventing Under 21 s from buying guns
Mentoring: Early Intervention to Promote College -- New Prosecutors and Probation Officers
Attendance -- Tough, New Sentences on Drug Dealers
-- Funding to Keep Schools Open Later and
Leading the Global Economy Promote Anti-Truancy Initiatives and Curfews
Community Economic Adjustment Initiative Foreign Policy
Fast Track Trading Authority
Africa Trade Initiative NATO Enlargement
Child Labor Securing the Peace in Bosnia
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Training Strengthening the Biological Weapons
Convention
GI Bill for Workers U.S. Arrears to the United Nations
A SOCIETY ROOTED IN RESPONSIBILITY A NATION THAT LIVES BY COMMUNITY
Moving People from Welfare to Work Political ReformlReinventing Government
Welfare-to-Work Housing Vouchers Free Television Time
Increasing Child Support Collections Enact Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform
Falling Welfare Case loads IRS Reform
Business Welfare-to-Work Commitments
Community Empowerment
Health Care
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Consumer Bill of Rights and Genetic Screening Second Round of Empowerment Zones
Protections "Play-By-the-Rules" Homeownership Proposal
Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to
Homeownership Zones
65 to Access Health Insurance
21st Century Research Fund Environmental Protection
Tobacco Climate Change initiative
Clean Water Initiative
Passing Comprehensive Bipartisan Tobacco
Food Safety
Legislation
Civil Rights
Child Care
Reforming and Strengthening the EEOC
Double the Number of Children Receiving
Child Care Subsidies to More than Two Million THE MILLENIUM PROJ~CT
Increase Tax Credits for 3 Million Families
Provide New Business Tax Credits Technology
Promote Early Learning
Provide After-School Care A Family-Friendly Internet
for up to Half a Million Children Making the Internet a Global Free-Trade Zone
Step Up Enforcement of State Health Cloning
and Safety Standards
Facilitate Background Checks on Culture
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ENTITLEMENT REFORM
Reserve Surplus until Social Security is Reformed
Over the next two years, President Clinton is finnly committed to strengthening Social Security for the
21 st century. He therefore proposes that we should not spend any ofthe projected budget surpluses on
anything else until we have refonned Social Security. This proposal, which continues the fiscally
responsible policies that have been the hallmark of this Administration, is intended to reserve the
surpluses in case they are needed for Social Security refonn.
EDUCATION
Small Classes with Qualified Teachers to Improve Reading in Grades 1-3
President Clinton is proposing a $12.4 billion initiative over 7 years ($7.3 billion over 5 years) to help
local schools provide small classes with qualified teachers in the early grades. This initiative will help
ensure that every child receives personal attention, learns to read independently, and gets a solid
foundation for further learning. The new initiative will reduce class size from a nationwide average of
22 in grades 1-3 to an average of 18, providing funds to help local school districts hire an additional
100,000 well-prepared teachers. The initiative will also provide funds to states and local school
districts to test new teachers, develop more rigorous teacher testing and certification requirements, and
train teachers in effective reading instruction practices. School districts will be accountable for
demonstrating gains in reading achievement. These steps will help ensure that first through third grade
students are receiving high-quality reading instruction in smaller classes from competent teachers.
Modern School Buildings to Improve Student Learning
For students to learn, schools must be well-equipped and be able to accommodate smaller class sizes.
To address these and other critical needs, President Clinton is proposing federal tax credits to pay
interest on nearly $22 billion in bonds to build and renovate public schools. This initiative provides
more than double the assistance of the Administration's earlier school construction proposal, which
covered halfthe interest on an estimated $20 billion in bonds. The tax credits will cost the Treasury $5
billion over 5 years, and more than $10 billion over ten years. Of the $22 billion in bond authority,
nearly $20 billion for a new School Modernization Bonds. Half of this bond authority will be allocated
to the 100 school districts with the largest number of low-income children, and the other half will be
allocated to the states.
Education Opportunity Zones:
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Helping Students in Poor Communities Reach High Standards
This initiative will strengthen public schools and help students master the basic and advanced skills
where the need is greatest: in high-poverty urban and rural communities where low expectations, too
many poorly prepared teachers, and overwhelmed school systems create significant barriers to high
achievement. The Education Department will select approximately fifty high-poverty urban and rural
school districts with: (1) a demonstrated commitment to use high standards and tests as tools to identify
and provide help to students, teachers and schools who need it; (2) a strategy to prevent students from
falling behind by ensuring quality teaching, challenging curricula, and extended learning time; (3)
programs to end social promotion and tum around failing schools; and (4) evidence of improved student
achievement. Added investments in these communities will accelerate their progress and provide models
of successful, standards-based reform for the nation. The President's initiative will invest $200 million in
FY99, and $1.5 billion over 5 years, in raising achievement and sharing lessons learned with school
districts around the country.
Early Intervention to Promote College Attendance
President Clinton wi II soon announce a long-term effort to bring college opportunity to children in high-
poverty areas by providing their families with early information about financial aid and appropriate
academic preparation, as well as mentoring and other support services to help the children stay on track
through high school graduation and into college.
LEADING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Fast Track
America needs fast track to continue to create higher-paying jobs for more Americans. Without it,
America's role as the largest exporter in the world will be put in jeopardy. And with new markets
opening around the world, it is more important than ever to give the President traditional trade authority
to break down trade barriers that put American products made by American workers at a disadvantage.
Fast track legislation is essentially an agreement between Congress and the president on how Congress
will consider United States trade agreements negotiated by the President. As part of that deal, the
President agrees to extensively consult and coordinate with Congress throughout trade negotiations. In
return, Congress votes on legislation implementing trade deals within a fixed period oftime, on a up or
down basis, and with no amendments. Every president since 1974 has enjoyed fast track authority.
Africa Trade Initiative
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bring the promise of21st century prosperity to African nations that are prepared to undertake the
hard work of reform. This legislation will introduce a new era of prosperity and partnership
between African reformers and the United States, expanding trade opportunities for African and
American workers, farmers and companies, and hope and opportunity for our children. This
legislation will encourage African nations to undertake sound growth policies by expanding trade
and encouraging investment.
Child Labor
This initiative will make the U.S. a world leader in the fight to reduce child labor. The initiative
focuses on reducing the most intolerable forms on child labor --"slavery" through forced or
indentured labor, work by very young children, and work in dangerous conditions -- by increasing
the nation's contribution to the International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC)
from $3 million to $30 million. The proposal also calls for additional agents for the U.S. Customs
Service to enforce the ban on the importation of goods made with forced or indentured child labor,
with a particular focus on rugs from South Asia. On the domestic front, the proposal includes a $50
million increase in migrant education to serve 100,000 more children of migrant farm workers and
a $9 million increase in the Department of Labor budget to enforce U.S. child labor laws --
especially in the agricultural sector.
Community and Economic Adjustment Initiative
To help communities compete in a global economy, the Community and Economic Adjustment
Initiative will borrow a page from the Administration's successful adjustment effort for base
closure communities. Modeled after the Defense Department's highly respected Office of Economic
Adjustment, the Office of Community and Economic Adjustment (OCEA) will provide grants and
other assistance to communities to develop an economic adjustment strategy. The President will
propose $50 million in additional community adjustment assistance as part of the Commerce
Department's Economic Development Administration's (EDA) budget. This will allow us to do
more for communities that have suffered through sudden and severe economic dislocation, such as
plant closings. As OEA has done for base closure communities, OCEA will closely with the
Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and other federal
agencies to make communities aware of all available federal resources and to provide a coordinated
Administration response.
TRAINING
Reform of the Federal Job Training System
The President renewed his call for Congressional action to reform the job training system. In his 1995 .
G.I. Bill for America's Workers, he called for individual empowerment through skills grants,
streamlining through One Stop Career Centers, and better results through tough performance standards.
The House has passed legislation based on his vision. The Workforce Investment Partnership Act has
bipartis~ support and is under consideration in the Senate.
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MOVING PEOPLE FROM WELFARE TO WORK
Welfare to Work Housing Vouchers
The President's budget will provide $283 million in FY99 for 50,000 new housing vouchers for welfare
recipients who need housing assistance to get or keep ajob. Families could use these housing vouchers to
move closer to a new job, to reduce a long commute, or to secure more stable housing to eliminate
emergencies that keep them from getting to work every day on time. These vouchers, awarded to
communities on a competitive basis, will give people on welfare a new tool to make the transition to ajob
and succeed in the work place. The proposal will complement the President's $100 million a year welfare
to work transportation plan, part of his NEXTEA bill, which will help welfare recipients make their daily
commutes.
Increasing Child Support Collections
President Clinton's crackdown on deadbeat parents is paying off: child support collections rose to a
record $13 billion in 1997, an increase of 63 percent since 1992. In the State ofthe Union, the President
set a goal of increasing collections to $20 billion by the year 2000.
Falling Welfare Caseloads
The President announced that we have met -- two years ahead of schedule -- the challenge he made
in last year's State of the Union to move two million more Americans off of welfare by the year
2000. New caseload numbers show that welfare caseloads fell by 4.3 million since President Clinton
took office, two million more than the 2.25 million decline he announced last year. The new figures,
from September 1997, show 9.8 million Americans on welfare, down from 14.1 million in January 1993-
- a drop of 30 percent.
Business Welfare to Work Commitments
In his State of the Union address last year, the President challenged the business community to create jobs
so that people can move from welfare to work. Today, nearly 3,000 companies have accepted the
President's challenge and joined a new national effort, called the Welfare to Work Partnership, which was
launched at the White House in May. Now, the President has challenged thousands more companies to
join the Partnership to give even more people a chance to work their way off welfare.
HEALTH CARE
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Protecting Patients Through a Consumer Bill of Rights and Genetic Screening Protections
The President called on Congress to pass federally enforceable consumer health care protections before it
adjourns this fall. This Health Care Bill of Rights should contain a range of protections, including
guaranteed access to needed health care specialists to ensure that patients are provided appropriate
high quality care, access to emergency room services when and where the need arises, an assurance that
medical records are confidential, and access to a meaningful internal and external appeals process for
consumers to resolve their differences with their health plans and health care providers. The
nation's health care system has changed dramatically, with more than 100 million Americans now
in managed care plans. This legislation will ensure that whether Americans have traditional health
insurance or managed care, they are assured quality care. And to ensure that new advances in
genetics are used to improve health rather than to discriminate, the President has called for
legislation prohibiting the use of genetic screening to discriminate in health insurance and
employment.
Creating a Historic "21st Century Research Fund"
With Unprecedented Increases in Biomedical Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Scientists are on the cusp of important new breakthroughs in biomedical research, which could
revolutionize the way medical experts understand, treat, and prevent some of our most devastating
diseases. To promote this progress, the President's budget contains a historic up front investment in
biomedical research -- a 1.15 billion increase in FY 1999 -- and proposes an increase in NIH funding of
more than 50 percent over the next five years. Under the President's proposal, the NIH will devote over
$20 billion to biomedical research in 2003.
Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to 65 to Obtain
Health Insurance, Including Buying Into Medicare
Americans ages 55 to 65 are one ofthe most difficult-to-insure popUlations: they have less access to and a
greater risk of losing employer-based health insurance; and they are twice as likely to have health
problems as the population generally. The President's proposal gives this vulnerable population three
new ways to gain access to health insurance by: (1) allowing Americans ages 62 to 65 to buy into
Medicare, through a premium that ensures that this policy is self-financed; (2) assisting vulnerable
displaced workers 55 and over by offering those who have involuntarily lost their jobs and health care
coverage a similar Medicare buy-in option; and (3) giving Americans 55 and over who have lost their
retiree benefits access to their former employers' health insurance.
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Passing Comprehensive Bipartisan Tobacco Legislation That Reduces Teen Smoking and Changes
the Way Tobacco Companies Do Business
Every day 3,000 young people start smoking and 1,000 of them will die prematurely from a tobacco-
related disease. The President called on Congress to pass comprehensive national bipartisan legislation
that includes five key principles: (1) it must mandate the development of a comprehensive plan to reduce
teen smoking, including raising the cost of cigarettes by $1.50 per pack over the next 10 years as
necessary to meet youth smoking targets; (2) it must affirm the FDA's full authority to regulate tobacco
products; (3) it must include measures to hold tobacco companies accountable, especially for marketing
products to children; (4) it must include concrete measures to improve public health, from investing in
research to reducing second-hand smoke to expanding smoking cessation; and (5) it must protect the
financial well-being of tobacco farmers and their communities from the loss of income caused by our
efforts to reduce smoking.
CHILD CARE INITIATIVE
Double the Number of Children Receiving Child Care Subsidies
to More than Two Million
The President proposed to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant to help working
families struggling to meet the costs of child care. This block grant is the primary federal subsidy
program to pay for child care, enabling low-income parents to work. Funds are distributed by
formula to the states to operate direct child care subsidy programs, as well as to improve the
quality and availability of care. The President's initiative will more than double the number of
children served from the one million served in FY 95 (the latest year for which data are available).
The President's budget will increase funding for the block grant by $7.5 billion (plus a state match)
over five years, which will enable states to provide subsidies for more than two million children by
2003.
Increase Tax Credits for Child Care for Three Million Working Families
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides tax relief to taxpayers who pay for the care of
a child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a
percentage of the taxpayer's employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care, with
the amount ofthe credit depending on the taxpayer's income. The President's proposal increases
the credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax cut of $358 for
these families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with incomes below 200%
of poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) that claim the maximum allowable child care expenses.
The President's budget will include $5.2 billion over five years to expand the Child and Dependent
Care Tax Credit for three million working families.
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The child care initiative includes a tax credit to businesses that provide child care services for their
employees, by building or expanding child care facilities, operating existing facilities, training child
care workers, or providing child care resources and referral services. The credit covers 25% of
qualified costs, but may not exceed $150,000 per year. The President's budget will include
approximately $500 million over five years for these tax credits.
Promote Early Learning
Research shows that children's experiences in the earliest years are critical to their development
and future success. The President's proposed Early Learning Fund provides challenge grants to
communities (distributed by states) to improve early learning and the quality and safety of child
care for children ages zero to five. Funds may be used for the following activities: providing basic
training to child care providers (including first aid and CPR); connecting individual child care
providers to centers for education and support; assisting child care providers to meet accreditation
and licensing requirements; linking child care providers with health professionals, and supporting
the inclusion of young children with special needs in quality child care settings; reducing group sizes
and child-to-staff ratios; and providing home visits, parent education, and consumer education
about child care. The President's Early Learning Fund builds on state initiativ"es such as North
Carolina's Smart Start, which helps North Carolina's children enter school healthy and ready to
succeed. The President's budget will include $3 billion over five years for this fund.
Increase Head Start and Double the Number of Children Served by Early Head Start
Head Start provides early, continuous and comprehensive child development and family support serVices,
preparing children for a lifetime ofleaming and development. The President's budget will invest an
additional $3.8 billion over five years to reach his goal of serving one million children by 2002, and
doubling the number of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start to 80,000.
Step Up Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards
Building on the military's model child care program, this proposed initiative will fund state efforts
to improve licensing systems and enforce child care health and safety standards, including by
increasing unannounced inspections of child care settings. The President's budget will include
$500 million over five years for this program.
Facilitate Background Checks on Child Care Providers
On the day of the White House Conference on Child Care, the President transmitted to Congress
the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, which will facilitate effective background
checks on child care providers by eliminating state law barriers to sharing criminal history
information for non-criminal purposes. Although the vast majority of child care providers are
dedicated to the teaching and nurturing of children, one tragedy in child care is too many.
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for this responsibility.
Increase Scholarships and Training for Child Care Providers
At the White House Conference on Child Care, the President proposed establishing a Child Care
Provider Scholarship Fund to enable states to provide scholarship funds to students working
toward a child care credential. Eligible child care workers must commit to remaining in the field
for at least one year for each year of assistance received and will earn increased compensation or
bonuses when they complete their course work. The President proposed a federal investment of
$250 million over five years, which will support 50,000 scholarships per year. The President is also
proposing to expand the Department of Labor's Child Care Apprenticeship Program to fund the
training of child care providers.
Invest in Research
Because too little is known about our child care system, the President's budget will increase
support for data, research, and evaluation. This research fund will also support a National Center
on Child Care Statistics and a child care hotIine that parents can call to get information about how
to find child care in their communities and how to identify appropriate, quality care for their
children. In addition, the research fund will support demonstration projects to test approaches to
help new parents who choose to stay home to care for their newborns or newly adopted children.
The President's budget will include $150 million over five years for this fund.
Provides After-School Care for up to Half a Million Children a Year
The President proposes a dramatic expansion ofthe 21 st Century Community Learning Center Program
to provide start-up funds (with a local match) to school-community partnerships to establish or expand
before- and after-school programs for school-age children. The program increases the supply of after-
school care in a cost-effective manner by directing most funds to programs that use public schools and
their existing resources, such as computers, gymnasiums, and sports equipment. The program also
includes a set-aside to fund programs run by community organizations. The President's budget will
request $800 million of new money for this program, for a total of$1 billion over five years.
CRIME
Juvenile Crime Strategy
This initiative recognizes the threat juvenile crime poses to our communities and calls on Congress to pass
a comprehensive anti-gang and youth violence strategy. The President's proposed legislation targets gangs
and violent juveniles by (1) funding for new prosecutors ($100 million) and probation officers ($60
million); (2) helping our kids to stay gun- and drug-free by preventing violent juveniles from buying
guns when they turn 21; (3) enacting tough new sentences to punish adults who sell drugs to kids and
use kids to sell drugs; (4) helping kids to stay in school, off drugs, and out of trouble with new funding to
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President's Child Care Initiative increases five-fold current funding for Department of Education-sponsored after
school programs.
AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD
NATO Enlargement
Europe's stability and America's security are closely linked. The President's call for enlarging the NATO
alliance strengthens the alliance's core mission of collective defense and helps meet new threats such as
regional instability. Enlargement furthers other US objectives including: Encouraging states in the region
to settle border and ethnic disputes with neighbors; strengthen civilian control of their militaries; and
increase tolerance for ethnic and religious minorities. NATO's enlargement, combined with the
Partnership for Peace program, the NATO-Russia Founding Act and the NATO-Ukraine partnership will
help erase the outdated Cold War divisions and build, for the first time, an undivided, democratic, and
peaceful Europe.
Securing the Peace in Bosnia
The United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability in Bosnia and a compelling interest in the
implementation ofthe Dayton peace accords. After 46 months ofthe worst war in Europe since WWII,
24 months of implementing peace have helped put Bosnia on the path to lasting peace and stability.
Progress on implementation was made possible because of prudent military support. We can now see the
point where civil implementation and peace can be self-sustaining -- but Bosnia's fragile peace still needs
the support of American and allied troops when the current NATO mission ends in June. The President
still must approve a detailed action plan being prepared by NATO military authorities after a full review
of all options. The President will insist that this action plan have the following elements: an achievable
mission tied to clear benchmarks, not a deadline; force must be able to protect itself; the U.S. must retain
command; European allies must shoulder their full share of responsibility; costs must be manageable; and
the plan must have substantial support of the Congress and the American people.
Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction Program (WMD)
President Clinton made clear that Iraq's efforts to develop nu~lear, chemical and biological weapons are
unacceptable. U.N. inspectors have done a remarkable job -- destroying more of Iraq's WMD potential
than was destroyed during the Gulf War itself. But Saddam is now refusing to allow inspectors to
complete their mission. All options are on the table to make sure Iraq does not pursue their WMD
program with impunity and threaten the international community.
Biological Weapons
President Clinton announced tonight that the United States would lead the effort to erect stronger
international barriers against the proliferation and use of biological weapons. Under this new initiative,
the United States will seek to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) by requiring nations
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for Biological weapon purposes and agree to a tough international inspection system including both
voluntary and mandatory inspections.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The President's call for Senate ratification ofthe CTBT will allow America to maintain a safe and reliable
nuclear deterrent while constraining the proliferation of nuclear material and technology to rogue states'
weapons programs. CTBT will improve America's ability to detect and deter nuclear explosive testing.
CTBT's global network of sensors will strengthen America's ability to monitor nuclear explosive testing
across the globe, as well as deter any nation from believing it can conduct a nuclear explosive test
undetected by the international community.
u.s. Arrears to the United Nations
The President also highlighted the need for prompt action on the payment of U.S. arrears to the United
Nations. The failure to pay undermines our ability to reform the U.N. and hinders our leadership of that
organization at very time the U.N. is working to prevent Iraq from threatening neighbors and the world
with weapons of mass destruction. We also need to give the International Monetary Fund the capacity to
help prevent global financial crises. Now, more than ever, our security at home and our interests abroad
demand that America meet our international obligations, sharpen the tools to improve the stability ofthe
world economy, and increase our leverage in international organizations.
A NATION THAT LIVES BY COMMUNITY
POLITICAL REFORM/REINVENTING GOVERNMENT
Free Television Time
Spending on congressional campaigns has increased more than three times the rate of inflation in the last
decades and spending on television is the primary reason. In 1972, candidates spent $25 million for
political ads; in 1996, they spent $400 million. In his State of the Union, President Clinton announced
that will request that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) require broadcasters to give
candidates for Federal office free time as a condition of receiving a new, lucrative license for digital
television. It is time to update broadcasters' public interest obligations to meet new political and
technological realities.
Enact Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform
The President remains committed to the enactment of bipartisan campaign finance reform. He is pleased
that the leadership in Congress has agreed to schedule a vote this Spring on the McCain-Feingold and
Shays-Meehan reform bills. But a vote on these bills is not enough. In his State of the Union the
President challenged Congress to enact real reform this year. Acceptable campaign finance reform
legislation must meet five criteria: 1) it must be bipartisan; 2) it must be comprehensive; 3) it must reduce
the amount of money that is raised and spent on federal elections; 4) it must help level the playing field
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IRS Reform
President Clinton is strongly committed to reforming the IRS. This spring the Administration will
launch the first of 33 Citizen Advocacy Panels. These new panels will be locally-based,
independent boards of citizens established to monitor how local IRS offices treat taxpayers and
help taxpayers get their problems solved. These new panels are part of the new era of customer
service underway at the IRS. The successful new IRS problem solving days, which have helped
thousands of taxpayers get relief, will continue around the country on a monthly basis.
Additionally, as of the first of the year, IRS phones are now operating 16 hours a day, six days a
week. For the first time, IRS offices will be open Saturday mornings during the tax filing season --
March through mid-April-- to provide taxpayers a convenient opportunity to walk-in and get any
questions answered. Also, the IRS expects this year to expand its award-winning Telefile program.
This innovative program allowed 4.7 million taxpayers to file their returns with a quick average 10
minute phone call last year.
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Since its creation in 1986, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has given states tax
credits of $1.25 per capita to allocate to developers of affordable housing. Even though
building costs have increased 40 percent in the last decade, the amount of the credit has not
been adjusted for inflation. Therefore, President Clinton and Vice-President Gore propose to
increase the cap on the LIHTC from $1.25 per capita to $1.75 per capita - restoring the value
of the credit to its 1986 level. Estimates suggest that the LIHTC currently helps build
80,000-90,000 affordable housing units each year. The President and Vice President's proposal
to increase the cap by 40 percent will create an additional 160,000-180,000 new rental housing
units for low-income American families over the next five years. This proposal will cost $1.6
billion over five years.
Empowerment Zones
Building on the Administration's successful first round of Empowerment Zones which has
helped spur the creation of jobs and private investment in America's distressed communities,
the President's budget includes a request for $1.7 billion to support flexible grants to 20 new
Empowerment Zone designations. The funding will be made available to the designated
communities over a 10 year period. The 15 urban designations will be funded at $100 million
each; and the five rural designations will be funded at $40 million each. The Departments of
Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture will announce a competition this Spring that
will lead to the designation of the 20 new Empowerment Zones by December 1998.
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The President's FY99 budget provides funds for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
to start a new initiative to help provide the opportunity of homeownership to responsible
families with a perfect rental history. Under this initiative, we will help 10,000 lower-income--
and often minority -- families become homeowners. While the method of helping each family
buy their own home will differ, responsible families we will be provided homeownership
counseling, flexible assistance for downpayment or closing costs, second mortgage loans for
debt reduction, or rehabilitation loans.
Homeownership Zones
The FY99 budget includes funds for Homeownership Zones to be used by communities to
reclaim abandoned and distressed neighborhoods through the creation of large-scale
developments of owner-occupied single-family homes. Funds could be used for property
acquisition, housing construction, housing rehabilitation, demolition, site preparation, homeownership
counseling, relocation, housing marketing, activities to ensure fair housing, and other activities
essential to homeownership.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change Initiative
Following the historic agreement reached in Kyoto in December 1997, and as part ofthe
President's and Vice President's ongoing efforts to address climate change, the President is
proposing a dramatic new program of tax cuts and R&D aimed at cutting greenhouse gas
emissions. The proposed package contains tax cuts to promote energy efficiency and additional
research and development spending covering the four major carbon-emitting sectors of the
economy (buildings, industry, transportation, and electricity), plus carbon removal and
sequestration, Federal facilities, and cross-cutting analyses and research. This package
complements the other elements of the Administration's climate change plan, which include
working with industry to develop sector-by-sector initiatives to cut emissions, incorporating
energy efficiency goals into Federal procurement and energy use, and restructuring the
electricity industry. These efforts strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving
efficiency and reducing costs to the consumer. They provide a solid step on the way to meeting
the goals of the Kyoto Agreement.
Clean Water Initiative
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communities curb polluted runoff from farms and city streets, reducing exposure to harmful
organisms and toxic contaminants in drinking water and fish, and promoting community-based
watershed management in partnership with landowners and affected industries. The initiative targets
the 40 percent of the nation's waterways still unsafe for fishing and swimming. It provides substantial
new resources to assist states in implementing these programs and to create incentives for farmers to
adopt practices that protect water quality. .
Food Safety Initiative
The Clinton Administration launched a new food safety initiative last year to put in place new
science-based preventive systems to improve the safety of seafood, meat, and poultry and begin work
on a new early warning system to help detect and respond to outbreaks of food borne illness. Our
budget will seek an even more substantial increase in funding to further enhance food safety. The
resources will go to a variety of initiatives, including: giving FDA authority to prevent the
importation of produce from countries without safety precautions equivalent to our own; hiring FDA
inspectors to improve the safety of fruits and vegetables, both domestic and imported; developing
new ways for federal inspectors to detect foodborne illnesses in meat and poultry and determine the
source of contamination; improving educational outreach on proper food handling; and further
expanding our early warning system and strengthening state surveillance activities for foodborne
illnesses.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Reforming and Strengthening the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
This initiative expands the EEOC's ADR program over three years to allow as many as 70 percent of
all complainants to choose mediation, rather than the lengthy process of investigation and litigation.
In the first year, the EEOC will provide ADR in a projected 16,000 cases -- 20 percent of all
incoming cases and double the number currently sent to mediation. In addition, through a
combination of increased use of mediation, improved information technology, and an expanded
investigative staff, the EEOC will reduce the average time it takes to resolve a private sector
complaint from over 9 months to 6 months, and reduce the backlog of cases from 64,000 to 28,000 by
the year 2000. The proposal provides $279 million for the EEOC for FY99 -- $37 million or 15
percent more than the enacted 1998 budget.
THE MILLENIUM PROJECT
TECHNOLOGY
A Family-Friendly Internet
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President Clinton and Vice President Gore support a strategy to protect children and create a
safe, educational environment on the Internet that is consistent with our First Amendment
values. This strategy includes cracking down on obscenity, child pornography, and online
stalking, and encouraging the private sector to develop filtering and blocking technology for
parents and teachers that is widely available and effective. This fall, the Administration will
join the private sector and non-profit groups to support "Internet Teach-Ins" at schools and
libraries, which are designed to increase awareness of safe on-line behavior for children and
access to good content
Making the Internet a Global Free-Trade Zone
The Administration is committed to creating an environment in which global electronic
commerce can flourish, so that every computer will be a window open to every business, large
and small. Over the next several years, Internet commerce could increase to hundreds of
billions of dollars per year, boosting U.S. exports and creating new opportunities for small
start-up companies. President Clinton has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to work with
foreign governments to secure agreement that all products and services delivered across the
Internet and all equipment from which the Internet is built -- be free from tariffs.
Cloning
President Clinton has proposed legislation banning the cloning of human beings. The President's
legislative proposal prohibits for five years the use of somatic cell nuclear technology to create a
human being. The legislation directs the National Bioethics Advisory Commission to report to the
President in four and half years on whether to continue the ban. The proposal is carefully worded
to ensure that it will not interfere with beneficial biomedical and agricultural activities. In March
1997, the President imposed a ban on the use of federal money for cloning human beings.
Save America's Treasures
Many of our most important cultural treasures -- such as the Star Spangled Banner, the Declaration of
Independence, and the Bill of Rights -- are seriously at risk. "Save America's Treasures" is a three year,
$150 million initiative that will help stimulate support for the Nation's most important preservation
priorities. The funds will be administered by the Department of Interior under the authority of the
National Historic Preservation Act. Half of the money will support preservation projects identified at the
national level -- the other half will go to support state and local priorities.
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Here it is. NEC is adding their sections today. NSC tomorrow.
---------------------- Forwarded by Paul J. weinstein Jr./OPD/EOP on
01/17/99 02:07 PM ---------------------------
Laura Emmett
01/16/99 04:51:35 PM
Record Type: Record
To: Paul J. weinstein Jr./OPD/EOP
cc: Jonathan Orszag/OPD/EOP, Charles R. Marr/OPD/EOP, Sarah Rosen/OPD/EOP
Subject: Re: SOTU BOOK
revised version
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A STRONG AMERICA IN A NEW WORLD(NSC)
21ST CENTURY ECONOMY(NEC)
CO~TYEMPOWERMENT
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Since its creation in 1986, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has given states tax credits of
$1.25 per capita to allocate to developers of affordable housing. Even though building costs have
increased 40 percent in the last decade, the amount of the credit has not been adjusted for inflation.
Therefore, President Clinton and Vice-President Gore propose to increase the cap on the LIHTC from
$1.25 per capita to $1.75 per capita -- restoring the value of the credit to its 1986 level. Estimates suggest
that the LIHTC currently helps build 80,000-90,000 affordable housing units each year. The President
and Vice President's proposal to increase the cap by 40 percent will create an additional 160,000-180,000
new rental housing units for low-income American families over the next five years. This proposal will
cost $1.6 billion over five years.
Empowerment Zones
Last week Vice President Gore named 20 economically distressed communities as Round Two
Empowerment Zones (EZs). Tonight, the President is reaffirming his Administration's commitment to
securing full funding for round two EZs. If Congress approves full funding for the EZs, federal
investment is expected to help create and retain about 90,000 jobs and stimulate $20.3 billion in private
and public investment in the next 10 years.
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI)
In 1994, the President proposed and Congress established the CDFI Fund. This fund further expands the
availability of credit, investment capital, financial services, and other development services in distressed
communities. The President is proposing to expand funding for the CDFI program to $125 million,
including $15 million for a new microenterprise initiative.
New Markets Initiative (NEC)
CHILDREN & FAMILIES
Expanding the Child Care Block Grant
The President is proposing to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant to help working
families struggling to meet the costs of child care. Today, however, millions of families who are eligible
for assistance with their child care costs do not receive any help. In FY 1997, states provided child care
assistance to only 1.25 million of the 10 million low-income children eligible for assistance. In addition,
the President is proposing to increase the block grant to provide challenge grants to communities
(distributed by states) to improve early learning and the quality and safety of child carefor children ages
zero to five. Research shows that children's experiences in the earliest years are critical to their
development and ability to reach school ready to learn. Finally, the President's plan increases our
investment in improving child care by providing States with additional resources for quality enhancement
efforts such as performing inspections of child care facilities, providing resource and referral services for
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parents, assisting providers with training and scholarships, and creating networks for family day care
providers. The President's budget will significantly increase investment in the child care block grant: (1)
increasing funding for child care subsidies by $7.5 billion over five years, enabling the program to serve an
additional 1.15 million children by FY 2004; (2) providing $3 billion over five years to promote early
learning; and (3) providing $173 million to improve child care quality.
Giving Greater Tax Relief for Child Care to Three Million Working Families
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides tax relief to taxpayers who pay for the care of a
child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a
percentage of the taxpayer's employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care, with the
amount of the credit depending on the taxpayer's income. The President's proposal increases the
credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax cut of $354 for these
families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with incomes below 200% of
poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) that claim the maximum allowable child care expenses. The
President's budget will include $5 billion over five years to expand the Child and Dependent Care
Tax Credit for nearly three million working families paying for child care.
Providing Tax Relief to Parents Who Stay at Home
The President believes that we should support parents in whatever choice they make for the care of
their children. He, therefore, is proposing to enable parents who stay at home with children under
one to take advantage of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by claiming assumed child care
expenses of $500. The President's budget proposal will provide an average tax credit of $178, at a
cost of $1.3 billion over five years, which will benefit 1.7 million families.
Creating New Child Care Tax Incentives for Businesses
The President's plan includes a new tax credit to businesses that provide child care services for their
employees, by building or expanding child care facilities, operating existing facilities, training child care
workers, or providing child care resources and referral services. The credit covers 25% of qualified costs,
but may not exceed $150,000 per year. The President's budget will include approximately $500 million
over five years for these tax credits.
Expanding After-School Opportunities
The President is committed to triple funding for the 21st Century Learning Center Program, which
supports the creation and expansion of after-school and summer school programs throughout the country.
Experts agree that school-age children who are unsupervised during the hours after school are far more
likely to use alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, commit crimes, receive poor grades, and drop out of school than
those who are involved in supervised, constructive activities. The program increases the supply of
after-school care in a cost-effective manner, primarily by funding programs that use public school facilities
and existing resources. In awarding these new funds, the Education Department will give priority to
school districts that are ending social promotion by requiring that students meet academic standards in
order to move to the next grade. The President's budget will include $600 million in FY 2000 to help
roughly 1.1 million children each year participate in after-school and summer school programs.
Expanding Head Start and Early Head Start
The President is committed to reaching his goal of enrolling one million children in Head Start by 2002,
and doubling the number of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start. He is proposing to continue
expansion of Head Start, our nation's premier early childhood development program, which provides early,
continuous and comprehensive child development and family support services, preparing low-income
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children for a lifetime ofleaming and development. The President's budget will invest an additional $607
million in FY 2000 to reach an additional 42,000 children with Head Start and Early Head Start services,
enabling the program to serve 877,000 low-income children.
FMLA Expansion
The President is proposing again to extend the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) --
the first piece of legislation that the President signed into law -- to ten million more American workers.
Today, workers are eligible for up to 12 weeks ofFMLA-protected leave to care for a newborn or adopted
child, to attend to their own serious health needs, or to care for a seriously ill parent, child or spouse -- if
they work at a business with 50 or more employees. By covering workers in businesses with 25 or more
workers, 10 million more American workers will be covered by the FMLA. The President is also calling
for expanding the law to allow FMLA-eligible workers to take up to 24 hours of additional leave each year
to meet specified family obligations, including routine doctors appointments and parent-teacher
conferences. Leave could be taken to: (1) participate in school activities, such as parent-teacher
conferences; (2) accompany one's child to routine dental or medical appointments; and (3) accompany an
elderly relative to routine medical appointments or other professional services.
Prohibiting Discrimination Against Parents
The President proposed new federal legislation to protect parents from discrimination in the workplace.
Building on state law in Alaska, Michigan, New Jersey and others, the president is announcing legislation
which would protect workers from unfair assumptions about their commitment to their job that can affect
hiring, advancement and other employment decisions. While this law would clearly not prohibit
employers from making hiring and promotion decisions on the basis of job performance, it would ensure
that workers are not unfairly discriminated against simply because they are parents.
Hosting a White House Conference on the Work-Family Balance
This fall, the President, Vice President and First Lady will host the first-ever White House
Conference on Work and Family. As we approach the millennium, parents more than ever are
struggling to balance their competing responsibilities at work and at home. This conference will
examine the relationship between the workplace and family life and highlight new workplace
models -- such as support for part-time work, paid leave, paternity leave - that both accommodate
the family and help the bottom line.
CRIME & DRUGS
21st Century Policing Initiative
In order to keep crime coming down to record low levels and the number of officers walking the beat at an
all-time high, the President is committing nearly $1.3 billion for a new 21st Century Policing Initiative.
The new 21st Century Policing Initiative builds on the President's successful COPS program by: (1)
helping communities to hire and redeploy between 30,000 and 50,000 more law enforcement officers over
five years, with an effort to target new police officers to crime "hot spots" and to help retain those officers
recently hired; (2) giving law enforcement access to the latest crime-fighting technologies, such as
improved police communications, crime mapping software, laptop computers, crime lab improvements,
and more; and (3) making an unprecedented commitment to engage entire communities in the hard work of
preventing and fighting crime -- by funding new community-based prosecutors, and partnerships with
probation and parole officers, school officials, and faith-based organizations.
Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision
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Numerous studies con finn that the vast majority of prisoners report drug use and that many prisoners
commit their crimes to buy drugs or while high. To help break this iron link between crime and drugs, the
President will propose $215 million for Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision that works to keep offenders
drug- and crime-free. This initiative will provide new funds to help states and localities implement tough
new systems to drug test, treat, and punish prisoners, parolees, and -- for the first time -- probationers. In
addition, this initiative provides increased funds for innovative drug courts throughout the country and
intensive drug treatment for state prisoners with the most serious drug problems.
Making Permanent the Brady Waiting Period for Handgun Sales
The Brady Law, which requires background checks of all prospeoive firearms purchasers, has stopped well
over a quarter of a million illegal handgun sales since its enactment in 1993 -- proving itself to be one of
the most effective law enforcement tools ever. But the Brady Law's "cooling off' or waiting period
recently expired, and handguns can now be purchased on the spot in some states. To make sure that local
law enforcement officers have enough time to conduct the best background check possible, the President
will call for a new national waiting period of up to five days before the purchase of a handgun.
Limiting Handgun Sales to No More Than One Per Month
The President will also propose making the Brady Law even more effective by limiting retail handgun
sales to one per month. Most law-abiding citizens do not need to make multiple gun purchases every
month, but criminals and gun runners do. To circumvent Brady background checks and to make. their gun
purchases untraceable by law enforcement, gun traffickers hire "straw purchasers" -- or persons not
prohibited from purchasing fireanns -- to buy guns in bulk and divert them to the street. Federal
legislation limiting handgun sales to one per month would shut down this "back door" to the illegal gun
market.
EDUCATION
Accountability for Results
President Clinton is calling for tough new accountability measures for federal elementary and secondary
education programs, in order to ensure that every child is helped to reach challenging academic standards.
He will send legislation to Congress this year that will require states and school districts that received
funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to adopt a series of new accountability
measures.
Accountability for Results: Issue School Report Cards
States will be required to produce annual report cards, easily understood by and widely distributed to
parents and the public, for each school, school district and the state as a whole. The report cards will
include infonnation on student achievement, teacher professional qualifications, class size, school safety
and other factors that will help parents judge the overall perfonnance of the schools. Where appropriate,
the report cards will show academic achievement of ethnic and racial subgroups, to ensure accountability
for helping all students to achieve. Thirty-six states currently publish or require local school districts to
publish school report cards, and five additional states will begin the practice in the next two years.
However, a recent report by Public Agenda shows that only 31 % of parents had seen these report cards,
and that parents and taxpayers still have difficulty getting the infonnation they need. President Clinton's
proposal will help ensure that parents in every state have access to the information they need to detennine
the quality of their schools and identifY areas in which improvement is needed.
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Accountability for Results: End Social Promotion
States and school districts would be required to end social promotion -- the practice of promoting students
from grade to grade regardless of whether they mastered required material and are academically prepared
to do the work at the next level. Students who are promoted without regard to their achievement fall even
further behind their classmates, and are more likely to lack basic skills upon high school graduation. To
ensure that this requirement helps more students succeed, rather than simply increasing the number of
students who are held back, states and school districts would be required to show how they will help
students meet promotion standards on time by (1) implementing strategies to diagnose students early and
identify and provide extra help to those who need it; (2) strengthening learning opportunities in classrooms
with clear standards, small classes with well-prepared teachers, high quality professional development, and
use of proven instructional practices; (3) providing extended learning time for students who need extra
help, including after-school and summer school; and (4) developing a serious action plan to give. students
who still do not meet the standards intensive .intervention with appropriate instructional strategies, rather
than simply having them repeat an entire grade.
In 1996 President Clinton challenged every state and school district to adopt policies to end social
promotion and require students to pass high school graduation exams. Twenty six states have
high school exit exams, and last year four states adopted policies that linked promotion to state tests.
A growing number of urban school districts, including Boston, Philadelphia, New York City and
Washington D.C. are adopting similar policies. In Chicago, where they ended the practice of social
promotion three years ago, students get extra help after school and those who fail end-of-the-year
tests attend summer school. Citywide math and reading scores have gone up three years in a row,
with the largest gains coming from some of the most disadvantaged students. President Clinton's
FY 2000 budget proposes to triple the funding from $200 million to $600 million for after-school
and summer school programs that will give students the extra help they need to succeed.
Accountability for Results: Put Qualified Teachers in the Classroom
According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, a growing body of research
shows that the knowledge and skills teachers bring to the classroom is one of the most important factors in
improving student achievement. Yet too often states permit individuals who do not meet minimum
standards for certification to begin teaching, and school systems often assign teachers to teach subjects for
which they lack adequate preparation. Approximately 50,000 teachers are hired by school districts each
year on "emergency" certificates, which means they do not meet state certification requirements. Nearly
one quarter of secondary school teachers lack even a minor in their main teaching field, and in schools with
the highest minority enrollment, students have a less than 50% change of having a math or science teacher
with a license and degree in the field. Students in schools with the highest concentrations of poverty --
those who often need the most help from the best teachers -- are most likely to be in classrooms with
teachers who are not fully qualified. President Clinton will require states to adopt competency tests for
new teachers, directing them to demonstrate subject matter knowledge and teaching expertise. States and
school districts will also be required to phase out, over five years, the use of teachers with emergency
certificates and the practice of assigning teachers to subjects for which they lack adequate preparation.
President Clinton's proposal will also provide resources to help states strengthen teacher certification
standards, implement competency testing for new teachers, provide training to current teachers, and
provide incentives to recruit more highly qualified teachers.
Accountability for Results: Turn Around Low Performing Schools
States will be instructed to identify the schools with the lowest achievement levels and the least
improvement, and begin to take corrective action to tum them around. These corrective actions, based on
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a careful assessment of each school's needs, would include steps such as extensive teacher training,
support to improve school discipline, and the implementation of proven approaches to school reform. If
these actions do not result in improved student achievement within 2 years, additional corrective actions
must be taken, including permitting students to attend other public schools; reconstituting the school, fairly
evaluating the staff and making staff changes as necessary; or closing the school and reopening it as a
charter school or with a new staff. Nineteen states currently take similar actions to help improve low
performing schools, and experience demonstrates that when these interventions carefully implemented and
are accompanied by the resources to support change, schools improve and student achievement increases.
The President's FY 2000 budget contains $200 million to help states begin taking these steps immediately.
A National Effort to Reduce Class Size in the Early Grades
In his 1998 State of the Union address, President Clinton proposed to help local school schools hire
100,000 well-prepared teachers in order to reduce class size in grades 1-3 to a national average of
18, and make sure that every child gets a sold foundation in the basics. Studies show that smaller
classes help teachers provide more personal attention to students and spend less time on discipline,
and help students to learn more and get a stronger foundation in the basic skills. In these studies,
minority and disadvantaged students showed the largest achievement gains. Last year, Congress provided
a down payment on the President's seven year, $12.4 billion proposal to reduce class size in grades 1-3 to a
national average of 18, by appropriating $1.2 billion to help local communities hire nearly 30,000 teachers.
Now Congress must finish the job by providing the remaining funds for local schools to hire 100,000 new
teachers over seven years.
Recruiting Outstanding New Teachers for Our Nation's Public Schools
With more than 2 million teachers to be hired in the next ten years to accommodate record student
enrollments and an aging teaching force, the nation must not only recruit an adequate number of teachers,
. but ensure a quah'ty teaching force through effective teacher recruitment and preparation. The
President's budget will contain a series of new initiatives and funding increase to help recruit well
prepared individuals to teach where they are needed the most, in high poverty urban and rural
communities.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change
On the heels of the announcement that 1998 surpassed 1997 as the warmest year on record, the President's
FY 2000 budget will propose a package of investments and tax cuts to help address global climate change.
It includes start-up funding for a new Clean Air Partnership Fund (discussed [below]) and tax incentives to
promote the purchase of energy-efficient cars, homes, and appliances, spurring the swift movement of
innovative technologies into the market. Proposed increases in Federal spending would help foster a new
generation of clean, energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy, as well as support research to
identify and quantify carbon sinks in forests and farmlands. This package complements the other elements
of the Administration's climate change plan, which include working cooperatively with industry sectors on
initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening efforts to incorporate energy efficiency goals into
Federal procurement and energy use, working with Congress to reward companies taking early, voluntary
action to reduce their emissions, and restructuring the electricity industry. In addition, the Administration
will continue its vigorous diplomatic efforts to fill in key details of the Kyoto Protocol in areas such as
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international emissions trading, as well as to encourage the meaningful participation of developing countries
in efforts to address global warming.
Lands Legacy Initiative
To meet the conservation challenges of a new century, President Clinton and Vice President Gore are
proposing a $1 billion Lands Legacy Initiative -- the largest one-year investment ever in the protection of
America's land resources. This FY 2000 budget proposal -- a 125 percent increase over FY 1999 --
expands federal efforts to save America's natural treasures, and provides significant new resources to states
and communities to protect local green spaces. To sustain these efforts in the new century, the President
commits to work with Congress to create a permanent funding stream beginning in FY2001. In addition,
the President calls on Congress to extend permanent wilderness protection to more than 5 million acres
within 17 national parks and monuments. This landmark initiative charts a new conservation vision for the
21st century, preserving irreplaceable pieces of our natural legacy within easy reach of every citizen.
Livability Agenda Community Planning and Collaboration
To help communities across America grow in ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong,
sustainable economic growth, President Clinton and Vice President Gore are proposing a
comprehensive Livability Agenda providing new tools and resources for state and local
governments. The initiative includes: a record $6.1 billion for public transit, plus $2.2 billion for
other innovative programs to promote improved transportation planning and ease traffic
congestion so commuters can spend less time in traffic and more with their families; $50 million in
matching grants to help neighboring communities develop collaborative "smart growth" strategies;
and $100 million to encourage citizen participation in the design of schools as centers of their
communities, provide communities with new information tools so they can grow according to their
values, and improve public safety by sharing crime data among communities. By delivering tools
and resources to the local level, where issues of growth are most appropriately addressed, this
initiative helps empower citizens to build more "livable communities" for the 21st century.
Livability Agenda: Better America Bonds
To help communities reconnect with their land and water, preserve green space for future generations, and
provide attractive settings for economic development, the Administration is proposing a new financing tool
generating $9.5 billion in bond authority for investments by state, local and tribal governments. The
President's budget will propose tax credits totaling more than $700 million over five years -- to support
Better America Bonds, which can be used to preserve green space, create or restore urban parks, protect
water quality, and clean up brownfields (abandoned industrial sites). The program will be coordinated
through an interagency process.
Clean Air Partnership Fund
To help protect public health and ease the threat of global warming, President Clinton is proposing a new
Clean Air Partnership Fund supporting state, local and private efforts that achieve early reductions in both
greenhouse gas emissions and ground-level air pollutants. The Fund, to be included in the President's FY
2000 budget proposal, will direct new resources to state and local governments to provide financing for
public and private sector projects that accelerate pollution reductions. This new financing will support
projects that go beyond legal requirements and enable communities to achieve clean air goals sooner.
Targeting the financing to projects that reduce both carbon emissions and health-threatening pollutants --
such as smog, soot or air toxics -- will stimulate integrated, cost-effective pollution control strategies. In
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addition, the Fund will spur technological innovation, encourage public-private partnerships, and leverage
substantial non-federal investment in improved air quality. The Fund will be administered by the
Environmental Protection Agency under existing authority.
FOOD SAFETY
Improving Food Safety with Increased Inspections and Surveillance
President Clinton will recommend increasing funds by $105 million -- or 12 percent -- in his FY 2000
budget to ensure food safety by improving inspections for both domestic and imported food and by
enhancing surveillance efforts. The President's proposal would significantly expand inspections of
domestic food products by enabling the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to use more than 60 new
inspectors to inspect, at least once each year, every domestic manufacturer of high-risk food products
(generally, products that are not cooked by consumers) from the current level of every 3 to 4 years.
Additional funds for USDA would permit the broad expansion of its science-based, prevention-oriented
.meat and poultry inspection system, called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). In addition,
the President's budget would increase scrutiny of imported food products by permitting the FDA to more
than double the number of inspections conducted offoreign food processors. The President's budget also
includes a significant component for surveillance and research activities. To help officials track pathogens
back to their source and prevent outbreaks of foodbome illnesses from spreading, the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) will use new funds to almost double the number of laboratories that do "DNA
fingerprinting" of foodbome pathogens.
HEALTH CARE
Addressing Growing Long-Term Care Needs
Over five million Americans, most of whom are elderly, have significant limitations due to illness or
disability and thus require long-term care. The aging of Americans will only increase the need for quality
long-term care options; by 2030, the number of elderly Americans will have doubled, so that one in five
Americans will be elderly. President Clinton has proposed an historic new $6.2 billion initiative to
support both the elderly and Americans with disabilities that have long-term care needs and the millions of
family members who care for them. This initiative includes a $5.5 billion investment in a $1000 tax
credit to compensate for the cost of long-term care services; a new $250 million National Family
Caregiver Program; a $10 million national campaign educating Medicare beneficiaries about
. long-term care options; and a $15 million investment so that the Federal government to offer
long-term care insurance to its employees at group rates. .
Improving Economic Opportunities for Americans With Disabilities
Since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office, the American economy has added 17.7
million new jobs. However, the unemployment rate among working-age adults with disabilities is nearly
75 percent. People with disabilities can bring tremendous energy and talent to the American workforce,
yet some outdated, institutional barriers and fewer opportunities often limit their ability to work. The
President's budget proposes a historic new $2 billion initiative that removes significant barriers to
work for people with disabilities that includes the Work Incentives Improvement Act, which invests
$1.2 billion in providing options for workers with disabilities to buy into Medicaid and Medicare; a
new $700 million investment in a $1,000 tax credit for workers with disabilities; and more than
double the government's current investment, an increase of $35 million, in assistive technologies
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that make it possible for individuals with disabilities to work.
Protecting Patients through a Strong, Enforceable Patients Bill of Rights
Once again, the President is calling on Congress to pass a strong federally enforceable patients' bill
of rights. This Health Care Bill of Rights should contain a range of protections, including
guaranteed access to needed specialists, access to emergency room services when and where the need
arises, and access to a meaningful independent and external appeals process for consumers to resolve
their differences with their health plans, and the right to be compensated when a health plans' decisions
cause a patient to be harmed or die. The President is already doing everything he can to implement these
protections, by extending them to the 85 million Americans covered by Federal health plans.
Encouraging Small Businesses to Purchase Health Insurance
Fewer small businesses offer health insurance because of their higher administrative costs and premiums
relative to large businesses. As a result, workers in small firms are less likely to have access to affordable,
job-based health insurance. Nearly half of uninsured workers are in firms with fewer than 25 employees
(relative to 30 percent of all workers). The President is proposing a new $44 million initiative to.
encourage small businesses to offer health insurance to their workers by developing and/or joining
coalitions for purchasing health insurance. This three-part initiative would provide a tax credit to small
businesses who decide to offer coverage by joining coalitions; encourage private foundations to support
coalitions by allowing their contributions towards these organizations to be tax exempt; and offering
technical assistance to new small business coalitions
Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to 65 to Obtain Health Insurance
Americans ages 55 to 65 are one of the fastest growing groups of uninsured Americans. They are
also extremely difficult to insure: they have less access to and a greater risk of losing
employer-based health insurance; and they are twice as likely to have health problems as the
population generally. The President's $1.4 billion proposal gives this vulnerable population three
new ways to gain access to health insurance by: (1) allowing Americans ages 62 to 65 to buy into
Medicare, through a mechanism that preserves the Medicare trust fund; (2) assisting vulnerable
displaced workers 55 and over by offering those who have involuntarily lost their jobs and health
care coverage a similar Medicare buy-in option; and (3) giving Americans 55 and over who have
lost their retiree benefits access to their former employers' health insurance.
Eradicating Polio by the End of the Year 2000
The President's initiative establishes a simple and effective strategy to eliminate the polio virus
worldwide by the year 2000. It includes routine immunizations for children, localized
immunization campaigns targeted to eliminate polio from the last remaining pockets of infection,
and a system to conclusively determine which countries are polio-free.
Increasing Access to Health Care Services for the Uninsured
This new initiative invests $1 billion over 5 years in local communities to integrate traditional safety
net providers, such as public hospitals and clinics, into networks that provide a comprehensive
range of services to uninsured people who are falling through the cracks. Providers will receive
funds to develop the financial, information, and telecommunication systems necessary to monitor
and manage patient needs, as well as funds to expand the range of services these health care
providers deliver.
Providing Critical Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Services
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Approximately 44 million adults and 14 million children suffer from a mental disorder each year.
The Clinton/Gore Administration's new FY2000 budget includes a $70 million increase - the largest
ever -- in the mental health block grant. This 24 percent increase, totaling $358 million, will enable
states to enhance and expand their efforts to people with mental illnesses, including targeting
particularly-hard-to-reach adults and children with severe mental illnesses, improving school
violence abatement programs, helping states provide new effective medications for people of mental
illnesses, and providing services to older Americans who are reluctant to reach mental health
services in traditional mental health settings. This spring, the Administration will also hold the
first ever White House Conference on Mental Health.
Protecting Privacy of Medical Records and Eliminating Genetic Discrimination.
In an era of increasing technology, more and more medical records are traveling through hospitals,
insurers, and even across state lines, threatening the privacy of some of the most sensitive medical
information. The President is challenging the Congress to pass strong bipartisan legislation to
protect the privacy of medical records. The President also has pledged that if Congress does not
pass this legislation this summer, he will take action to implement protections for electronic medical
records within the authority given to him the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996. Finally, as scientists unravel the Human Genome Code, more Americans fear that this
information will be used to discriminate against them rather than improve health. The President
also is asking the Congress to pass legislation that prevents health plans and employers from
discriminating on the basis of genetic discrimination.
The Potential of New Biomedical Research
The issue of biomedical research has captured the imagination of virtually every community, and
we are now poised to make revolutionary advances that could dramatically alter and improve the way we
treat diseases. The President's new $320 million investment in NIH will allow us to take great strides
towards preventing the debilitating and devastating nerve, kidney, and eye complications of diabetes,
effectively combating diseases associated with aging, like Alzheimers and Parkinson's, and
developing vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS.
Providing Basic Health Care for Native Americans
The President's budget proposes an increase for the Indian Health Service (IHS) of $170 million or 8
percent over the FY 1999 level. This increase would enable ms to continue expanding accessible
and high-quality health care to its 1.4 million Native American service users. The budget enables
IHS to further enhance current levels of direct health care services, including providing 34,000
breast cancer screening mammographies to Native American women between ages 50-69; creating
44 new dental unit teams to provide an additional 25,000 dental visits; reducing the incidence of
complications related to chronic diseases such as diabetes through clinical monitoring and health
promotion on life style changes; and enabling approximately 130 new community-based public
health nurses to provide outreach activities, including home visitations, well-child examinations,
immunizations, prenatal care, health fairs, follow-up visits, and missed clinical appointments.
Within the overall IHS increase, the budget continues to support tribal self-determination by
proposing a $35 million (+17%) increase for contract support costs, to cover the costs of existing
tribal contracts and compacts. The President will also continue his efforts to elevate the Director of
illS to the position of Assistant Secretary.
NATIONAL SERVICE
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The President called on Congress to increase support for AmeriCorps. When he came into office,
President Clinton outlined a vision for a national service program which would allow young people to
serve our nation while earning funds for college. Since 1994, more than 100,000 Americans have served
their country and community through AmeriCorps. Serving in more than 4,000 communities,
AmeriCorps members have taught, tutored or mentored more than 2.6 million children, operated
after-school programs for more than 500,000 at-risk youth, recruited or organized more than 1.7 million
volunteers, and operated more than 40,000 neighborhood safety patrols. In the FY 2000 budget, the
President is proposing a $133 million dollar increase over FY 1999 for the Corporation for National
Service in order to expand AmeriCorps and support other national service programs.
ONE AMERICA
Civil Rights Enforcement
The Clinton Administration's Fiscal Year 2000 budget contains $663 million for civil rights enforcement
agencies and offices -- an increase of $84 million, or 15 percent, over last year's funding. This budget
. maintains the President's commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans: that no one should
be denied such essentials as a job, a home, or a chance at an education because of the color of their skin, a
disability, their gender, or their religion. Highlights of the President's package include: (1) a $13 million
increase for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice -- the largest increase in nine years -- to
permit the Division to expand investigations and prosecutions of criminal civil rights cases (including hate
crimes), fair housing and lending cases, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act; (2) a $14
million Equal Pay Initiative at the EEOC and the Department of Labor; (3) a $33 million overall increase
for the EEOC -- from $279 to $312 million; (4) an $11 million overall increase for the Office of Federal
Contract Compliance (OFCCP) at the Department of Labor to expand the compliance assistance strategy to
encourage Federal contractor compliance through increased outreach, education, and technical assistance;
and (5) $5 million to the Department of Justice for the creation of a Civil Rights Enforcement Partnership
that will provide competitive grants to help build the capacity of States to address specific enforcement
issues within their jurisdictions by hiring additional staff.
Ensuring Equal Pay
According to the Department of Labor, the average woman who works full-time earns just 74 cents
for each dollar that an average man earns. For women of color, the gap is even wider. This gap
is, in part, attributable to differing levels of experience, education, and skill. However, even after
accounting for these factors, a significant pay gap still remains between men and women in similar
jobs. Recognizing this wage disparity, the President is proposing a $14 million equal pay initiative
for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor. This
funding would allow the EEOC to advance outreach to businesses and employees to educate them
about the legal requirements for paying equal wages, provide technical assistance, improve training
for EEOC employees to better identify wage discrimination issues, and launch a public service
announcement campaign to highlight the wage gap. The Department of Labor will continue
monitoring pay equity to reduce occupational segregation; provide enhanced technical assistance
through the Internet such as providing descriptions of industry best practices; increase outreach
and education; and provide a focused effort on women in non-traditional jobs by identifying best
practices and assisting contractors in recruiting and developing qualified individuals in
non-traditional occupations. The President also will continue to call on Congress to pass the
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Paycheck Fairness Act which improves the enforcement of wage discrimination laws and provides
for research, education, training of EEOC staff, and outreach on this important subject.
POLITICAL REFORM
Enact Bipartlsan Campaign Finance Reform
The President remains committed to the enactment of bipartisan campaign finance reform. Tonight he is
challenging the Congress to pass bipartisan reform early this year. Acceptable campaign finance reform
legislation must meet five criteria: 1) it must be bipartisan; 2) it must be comprehensive; 3) it must reduce
the amount of money that is raised arid spent on federal elections; 4) it must help level the playing field
between challengers and incumbents; and 5) it cannot favor one party over the other.
REINVENTING GOVERNMENT
Streamlining Government
As part of its reinvention effort to create a government that works better and costs less, the administration
will propose legislation creating new buyout authorities for agencies. We will seek renewal of the authority
to offer voluntary separation incentives to support downsizing efforts in those areas where costlbenefit
analysis indicates that it would be most beneficial. In addition we will support agencies if they need, as in
the case of the Department of Defense and Energy, separate authority to restructure their workforce with
voluntary separation incentives. We have already cut the size of the Federal civilian work force by more
than 345,000 people, creating the smallest work force in 35 years and, as a share of total civilian
employment, the smallest since 1931. As of Sept. 30, 1998, 1.856M people were receiving a
government paycheck. On Sept. 30, 1997, there were 1.872M representing an annual headcount
reduction in 1998 of 16,000 people. It is the smallest number since Sept. 30,1961 when it was 1.825M.
Results for Children
The federal government will enter into ten partnerships with state and local governments that will increase
their flexibility in using federal program dollars using key indicators that reliably chart measurable
improvements in the lives of children. This initiative has four key components: I)The Federal Interagency
Forum on Child and Family Statistics will help partners use key indicators (such as infant and child
mortality, immunization and child crime rates) as benchmarks of child well-being in measuring and
demonstrating progress; 2)Consolidation of planning and reporting for programs with related goals, and
greater flexibility in administering grant funds, saving time and precious resources; 3) Development of new
ways to pool the savings from Federal discretionary grant programs, creating a local A Child Well-Being
Investment Fund to increase services to children and their families. 4) Lessons learned by the partners will
be shared in a how to manual helping to free other communities in cutting red tape and improving
children's services.
Customer Satisfaction Survey
The 32 agencies that serve over 90% of the government's customers will participate in a government-wide
customer satisfaction survey that will compare the quality of their services to the private sector's. Vice
President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) and the President's Management
Council will bring together a group of agency experts to determine the best approach to meet, this
objective. The Vice President has asked that the first customer satisfaction survey be completed this year.
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Civil Service Improvement
As part of a larger effort to improve the performance management systems of the Federal workforce and to
encourage a culture of high performance. and labor/management collaboration, the administration is
committed to working with agencies and worker representatives to develop legislative proposals that more
strongly link pay and performance for federal employees and help agencies recruit the best and the
brightest. The proposals will reflect these principles: 1) Permitting flexible pay systems so pay can be
more performance-oriented; 2) Allowing agencies to evaluate their managers, including SES, on a
balanced set of results, including the GPRA goals, customer satisfaction rates and the outcome of
employee satisfaction surveys; 3) Providing agencies with flexible policies for hiring and retaining a high
quality workforce. The legislative proposals would seek to establish a set of standards, based on these
principles, that each agency would use to create a particular system for their situation. Labor and
management, as part of our rejuvenated partnership, would then need to mutually agree upon a plan before
its implementation.
SOCIAL SECURlTY(NEC)
TOBACCO
Protecting Our Children From Tobacco
Every day, 3000 children become regular smokers and 1000 have their lives shortened because of it.
Almost 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking by age 18 and today, 4.5 million children -- 37 percent
of all high school students -- smoke cigarettes. The state tobacco settlement is an important step in the
right direction, but the President believes additional measures must be taken at the national level to reduce
youth smoking and hold the tobacco industry accountable: I) Raise the price of cigarettes, so fewer young
people start to smoke; 2) Reaffirm the Food and Drug Administration's full authority to keep cigarettes out
of the hands of children; 3) Fund critical public health efforts to prevent youth smoking and enact
measures to hold the tobacco industry accountable for reducing youth smoking; and 4) Protect farmers and
farming communities. This plan will help reimburse federal taxpayers for tobacco-related health costs.
To reimburse the Medicare trust fund for the billions of tobacco-related costs it incurs each year, the
President is announcing that the Department of Justice intends to bring suit against the tobacco industry.
CONTINUING THE SUCCESS OF WELFARE REFORM
[Note to BR/EK: we deliberately left some language general to preserve certain announcements for
Jan 25th, e.g., exact caseload numbers, amount of WtW $$, exact immigrant proposal]
Welfare Rolls Decline as More Recipients go to Work
The President announced that the percentage of the U.S. population on welfare is at its lowest level in 30
years and the welfare rolls have fallen by nearly half since the President took office. The percent of
welfare recipients working has tripled since 1992 and all states met the first work participation rates
required under the welfare reform law. Two years ago the President challenged the business community
to create jobs so that people can move from welfare to work. Today, 10,000 companies of all sizes,
industries, and from all regions have joined the Welfare to Work Partnership and are successfully hiring
and retaining former welfare recipients.
13
Additional Welfar~to-Work Assistance for Those Who Need it Most
The President announced that he will propose additional funding for his Welfare-to-Work program to
ensure those remaining on the welfare rolls who face the greatest challenges can succeed in the workforce
and to increase the employment of low-income fathers so they can better support their children. This
funding will help 200,000 people move from welfare to work and will help increase child support
collections, which have gone up 80 percent since 1992.
Fairness for Legal Immigrants
The President believes that legal immigrants should have the same opportunity, and bear the same
responsibility, as other members of society. The President proposes to build on the progress of the
Balanced Budget Act (1997) and the Agricultural Research Act (1998) by further restoring important
disability, health and nutrition benefits for legal immigrants.
[Note: legal immigrant benefits was not in 1114 version of speech. If you think it will stay out, you should
remove this section.]
Welfare to Work Housing Vouchers
The President's budget will include funding for 25,000 new welfare-to-work vouchers housing vouchers in
addition to maintaining funding for the 50,000 vouchers agreed to in last year's budget. Families could
use these housing vouchers to move closer to a new job, to reduce a long commute, or to secure more
stable housing to eliminate emergencies that keep them from getting to work every day on time. These
vouchers, awarded to communities on a competitive basis, will give people on welfare a new tool to make
the transition to a job and succeed in the work place.
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A STRONG AMERICA IN A NEW WORLD(NSC)
21ST CENTURY ECONOMY(NEC)
CO~TYEMPOWERMENT
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Since its creation in 1986, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has given states tax credits of
$1.25 per capita to allocate to developers of affordable housing. Even though building costs have
increased 40 percent in the last decade, the amount of the credit has not been adjusted for inflation.
Therefore, President Clinton and Vice-President Gore propose to increase the cap on the LIHTC from
$1.25 per capita to $1.75 per capita -- restoring the value of the credit to its 1986 level. Estimates suggest
that the LIHTC currently helps build 80,000-90,000 affordable housing units each year. The President
and Vice President's proposal to increase the cap by 40 percent will create an additional 160,000-180,000
new rental housing units for low-income American families over the next five years. This proposal will
cost $1.6 billion over five years.
Empowerment Zones
Last week Vice President Gore named 20 economically distressed communities as Round Two
Empowerment Zones (EZs). Tonight, the President is reaffirming his Administration's commitment to
securing full funding for round two EZs. If Congress approves full funding for the EZs, federal
investment is expected to help create and retain about 90,000 jobs and stimulate $20.3 billion in private
and public investment in the next 10 years.
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI)
In 1994, the President proposed and Congress established the CDFI Fund. This fund further expands the
availability of credit, investment capital, financial services, and other development services in distressed
communities. The President is proposing to expand funding for the CDFI program to $125 million,
including $15 million for a new microenterprise initiative.
New Markets Initiative (NEC)
CHILDREN & FAMILIES
Expanding the Child Care Block Grant
The President is proposing to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant to help working
families struggling to meet the costs of child care. Today, however, millions of families who are eligible
for assistance with their child care costs do not receive any help. In FY 1997, states provided child care
assistance to only 1.25 million of the 10 million low-income children eligible for assistance. In addition,
the President is proposing to increase the block grant to provide challenge grants to communities
(distributed by states) to improve early learning and the quality and safety of child carefor children ages
zero to five. Research shows that children's experiences in the earliest years are critical to their
development and ability to reach school ready to learn. Finally, the President's plan increases our
investment in improving child care by providing States with additional resources for quality enhancement
efforts such as performing inspections of child care facilities, providing resource and referral services for
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parents, assisting providers with training and scholarships, and creating networks for family day care
providers. The President's budget will significantly increase investment in the child care block grant: (1)
increasing funding for child care subsidies by $7.5 billion over five years, enabling the program to serve an
additional 1.15 million children by FY 2004; (2) providing $3 billion over five years to promote early
learning; and (3) providing $173 million to improve child care quality.
Giving Greater Tax Relief for Child Care to Three Million Working Families
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides tax relief to taxpayers who pay for the care of a
child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a
percentage of the taxpayer's employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care, with the
amount of the credit depending on the taxpayer's income. The President's proposal increases the
credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax cut of $354 for these
families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with incomes below 200% of
poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) that claim the maximum allowable child care expenses. The
President's budget will include $5 billion over five years to expand the Child and Dependent Care
Tax Credit for nearly three million working families paying for child care.
Providing Tax Relief to Parents Who Stay at Home
The President believes that we should support parents in whatever choice they make for the care of
their children. He, therefore, is proposing to enable parents who stay at home with children under
one to take advantage of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by claiming assumed child care
expenses of $500. The President's budget proposal will provide an average tax credit of $178, at a
cost of $1.3 billion over five years, which will benefit 1.7 million families.
Creating New Child Care Tax Incentives for Businesses
The President's plan includes a new tax credit to businesses that provide child care services for their
employees, by building or expanding child care facilities, operating existing facilities, training child care
workers, or providing child care resources and referral services. The credit covers 25% of qualified costs,
but may not exceed $150,000 per year. The President's budget will include approximately $500 million
over five years for these tax credits.
Expanding After-School Opportunities
The President is committed to triple funding for the 21st Century Learning Center Program, which
supports the creation and expansion of after-school and summer school programs throughout the country.
Experts agree that school-age children who are unsupervised during the hours after school are far more
likely to use alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, commit crimes, receive poor grades, and drop out of school than
those who are involved in supervised, constructive activities. The program increases the supply of
after-school care in a cost-effective manner, primarily by funding programs that use public school facilities
and existing resources. In awarding these new funds, the Education Department will give priority to
school districts that are ending social promotion by requiring that students meet academic standards in
order to move to the next grade. The President's budget will include $600 million in FY 2000 to help
roughly 1.1 million children each year participate in after-school and summer school programs.
Expanding Head Start and Early Head Start
The President is committed to reaching his goal of enrolling one million children in Head Start by 2002,
and doubling the number of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start. He is proposing to continue
expansion of Head Start, our nation's premier early childhood development program, which provides early,
continuous and comprehensive child development and family support services, preparing low-income
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children for a lifetime ofleaming and development. The President's budget will invest an additional $607
million in FY 2000 to reach an additional 42,000 children with Head Start and Early Head Start services,
enabling the program to serve 877,000 low-income children.
FMLA Expansion
The President is proposing again to extend the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) --
the first piece of legislation that the President signed into law -- to ten million more American workers.
Today, workers are eligible for up to 12 weeks ofFMLA-protected leave to care for a newborn or adopted
child, to attend to their own serious health needs, or to care for a seriously ill parent, child or spouse -- if
they work at a business with 50 or more employees. By covering workers in businesses with 25 or more
workers, 10 million more American workers will be covered by the FMLA. The President is also calling
for expanding the law to allow FMLA-eligible workers to take up to 24 hours of additional leave each year
to meet specified family obligations, including routine doctors appointments and parent-teacher
conferences. Leave could be taken to: (1) participate in school activities, such as parent-teacher
conferences; (2) accompany one's child to routine dental or medical appointments; and (3) accompany an
elderly relative to routine medical appointments or other professional services.
Prohibiting Discrimination Against Parents
The President proposed new federal legislation to protect parents from discrimination in the workplace.
Building on state law in Alaska, Michigan, New Jersey and others, the president is announcing legislation
which would protect workers from unfair assumptions about their commitment to their job that can affect
hiring, advancement and other employment decisions. While this law would clearly not prohibit
employers from making hiring and promotion decisions on the basis of job performance, it would ensure
that workers are not unfairly discriminated against simply because they are parents.
Hosting a White House Conference on the Work-Family Balance
This fall, the President, Vice President and First Lady will host the first-ever White House
Conference on Work and Family. As we approach the millennium, parents more than ever are
struggling to balance their competing responsibilities at work and at home. This conference will
examine the relationship between the workplace and family life and highlight new workplace
models -- such as support for part-time work, paid leave, paternity leave - that both accommodate
the family and help the bottom line.
CRIME & DRUGS
21st Century Policing Initiative
In order to keep crime coming down to record low levels and the number of officers walking the beat at an
all-time high, the President is committing nearly $1.3 billion for a new 21st Century Policing Initiative.
The new 21st Century Policing Initiative builds on the President's successful COPS program by: (1)
helping communities to hire and redeploy between 30,000 and 50,000 more law enforcement officers over
five years, with an effort to target new police officers to crime "hot spots" and to help retain those officers
recently hired; (2) giving law enforcement access to the latest crime-fighting technologies, such as
improved police communications, crime mapping software, laptop computers, crime lab improvements,
and more; and (3) making an unprecedented commitment to engage entire communities in the hard work of
preventing and fighting crime -- by funding new community-based prosecutors, and partnerships with
probation and parole officers, school officials, and faith-based organizations.
Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision
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Numerous studies con finn that the vast majority of prisoners report drug use and that many prisoners
commit their crimes to buy drugs or while high. To help break this iron link between crime and drugs, the
President will propose $215 million for Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision that works to keep offenders
drug- and crime-free. This initiative will provide new funds to help states and localities implement tough
new systems to drug test, treat, and punish prisoners, parolees, and -- for the first time -- probationers. In
addition, this initiative provides increased funds for innovative drug courts throughout the country and
intensive drug treatment for state prisoners with the most serious drug problems.
Making Permanent the Brady Waiting Period for Handgun Sales
The Brady Law, which requires background checks of all prospeoive firearms purchasers, has stopped well
over a quarter of a million illegal handgun sales since its enactment in 1993 -- proving itself to be one of
the most effective law enforcement tools ever. But the Brady Law's "cooling off' or waiting period
recently expired, and handguns can now be purchased on the spot in some states. To make sure that local
law enforcement officers have enough time to conduct the best background check possible, the President
will call for a new national waiting period of up to five days before the purchase of a handgun.
Limiting Handgun Sales to No More Than One Per Month
The President will also propose making the Brady Law even more effective by limiting retail handgun
sales to one per month. Most law-abiding citizens do not need to make multiple gun purchases every
month, but criminals and gun runners do. To circumvent Brady background checks and to make. their gun
purchases untraceable by law enforcement, gun traffickers hire "straw purchasers" -- or persons not
prohibited from purchasing fireanns -- to buy guns in bulk and divert them to the street. Federal
legislation limiting handgun sales to one per month would shut down this "back door" to the illegal gun
market.
EDUCATION
Accountability for Results
President Clinton is calling for tough new accountability measures for federal elementary and secondary
education programs, in order to ensure that every child is helped to reach challenging academic standards.
He will send legislation to Congress this year that will require states and school districts that received
funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to adopt a series of new accountability
measures.
Accountability for Results: Issue School Report Cards
States will be required to produce annual report cards, easily understood by and widely distributed to
parents and the public, for each school, school district and the state as a whole. The report cards will
include infonnation on student achievement, teacher professional qualifications, class size, school safety
and other factors that will help parents judge the overall perfonnance of the schools. Where appropriate,
the report cards will show academic achievement of ethnic and racial subgroups, to ensure accountability
for helping all students to achieve. Thirty-six states currently publish or require local school districts to
publish school report cards, and five additional states will begin the practice in the next two years.
However, a recent report by Public Agenda shows that only 31 % of parents had seen these report cards,
and that parents and taxpayers still have difficulty getting the infonnation they need. President Clinton's
proposal will help ensure that parents in every state have access to the information they need to detennine
the quality of their schools and identifY areas in which improvement is needed.
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Accountability for Results: End Social Promotion
States and school districts would be required to end social promotion -- the practice of promoting students
from grade to grade regardless of whether they mastered required material and are academically prepared
to do the work at the next level. Students who are promoted without regard to their achievement fall even
further behind their classmates, and are more likely to lack basic skills upon high school graduation. To
ensure that this requirement helps more students succeed, rather than simply increasing the number of
students who are held back, states and school districts would be required to show how they will help
students meet promotion standards on time by (1) implementing strategies to diagnose students early and
identify and provide extra help to those who need it; (2) strengthening learning opportunities in classrooms
with clear standards, small classes with well-prepared teachers, high quality professional development, and
use of proven instructional practices; (3) providing extended learning time for students who need extra
help, including after-school and summer school; and (4) developing a serious action plan to give. students
who still do not meet the standards intensive .intervention with appropriate instructional strategies, rather
than simply having them repeat an entire grade.
In 1996 President Clinton challenged every state and school district to adopt policies to end social
promotion and require students to pass high school graduation exams. Twenty six states have
high school exit exams, and last year four states adopted policies that linked promotion to state tests.
A growing number of urban school districts, including Boston, Philadelphia, New York City and
Washington D.C. are adopting similar policies. In Chicago, where they ended the practice of social
promotion three years ago, students get extra help after school and those who fail end-of-the-year
tests attend summer school. Citywide math and reading scores have gone up three years in a row,
with the largest gains coming from some of the most disadvantaged students. President Clinton's
FY 2000 budget proposes to triple the funding from $200 million to $600 million for after-school
and summer school programs that will give students the extra help they need to succeed.
Accountability for Results: Put Qualified Teachers in the Classroom
According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, a growing body of research
shows that the knowledge and skills teachers bring to the classroom is one of the most important factors in
improving student achievement. Yet too often states permit individuals who do not meet minimum
standards for certification to begin teaching, and school systems often assign teachers to teach subjects for
which they lack adequate preparation. Approximately 50,000 teachers are hired by school districts each
year on "emergency" certificates, which means they do not meet state certification requirements. Nearly
one quarter of secondary school teachers lack even a minor in their main teaching field, and in schools with
the highest minority enrollment, students have a less than 50% change of having a math or science teacher
with a license and degree in the field. Students in schools with the highest concentrations of poverty --
those who often need the most help from the best teachers -- are most likely to be in classrooms with
teachers who are not fully qualified. President Clinton will require states to adopt competency tests for
new teachers, directing them to demonstrate subject matter knowledge and teaching expertise. States and
school districts will also be required to phase out, over five years, the use of teachers with emergency
certificates and the practice of assigning teachers to subjects for which they lack adequate preparation.
President Clinton's proposal will also provide resources to help states strengthen teacher certification
standards, implement competency testing for new teachers, provide training to current teachers, and
provide incentives to recruit more highly qualified teachers.
Accountability for Results: Turn Around Low Performing Schools
States will be instructed to identify the schools with the lowest achievement levels and the least
improvement, and begin to take corrective action to tum them around. These corrective actions, based on
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a careful assessment of each school's needs, would include steps such as extensive teacher training,
support to improve school discipline, and the implementation of proven approaches to school reform. If
these actions do not result in improved student achievement within 2 years, additional corrective actions
must be taken, including permitting students to attend other public schools; reconstituting the school, fairly
evaluating the staff and making staff changes as necessary; or closing the school and reopening it as a
charter school or with a new staff. Nineteen states currently take similar actions to help improve low
performing schools, and experience demonstrates that when these interventions carefully implemented and
are accompanied by the resources to support change, schools improve and student achievement increases.
The President's FY 2000 budget contains $200 million to help states begin taking these steps immediately.
A National Effort to Reduce Class Size in the Early Grades
In his 1998 State of the Union address, President Clinton proposed to help local school schools hire
100,000 well-prepared teachers in order to reduce class size in grades 1-3 to a national average of
18, and make sure that every child gets a sold foundation in the basics. Studies show that smaller
classes help teachers provide more personal attention to students and spend less time on discipline,
and help students to learn more and get a stronger foundation in the basic skills. In these studies,
minority and disadvantaged students showed the largest achievement gains. Last year, Congress provided
a down payment on the President's seven year, $12.4 billion proposal to reduce class size in grades 1-3 to a
national average of 18, by appropriating $1.2 billion to help local communities hire nearly 30,000 teachers.
Now Congress must finish the job by providing the remaining funds for local schools to hire 100,000 new
teachers over seven years.
Recruiting Outstanding New Teachers for Our Nation's Public Schools
With more than 2 million teachers to be hired in the next ten years to accommodate record student
enrollments and an aging teaching force, the nation must not only recruit an adequate number of teachers,
. but ensure a quah'ty teaching force through effective teacher recruitment and preparation. The
President's budget will contain a series of new initiatives and funding increase to help recruit well
prepared individuals to teach where they are needed the most, in high poverty urban and rural
communities.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change
On the heels of the announcement that 1998 surpassed 1997 as the warmest year on record, the President's
FY 2000 budget will propose a package of investments and tax cuts to help address global climate change.
It includes start-up funding for a new Clean Air Partnership Fund (discussed [below]) and tax incentives to
promote the purchase of energy-efficient cars, homes, and appliances, spurring the swift movement of
innovative technologies into the market. Proposed increases in Federal spending would help foster a new
generation of clean, energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy, as well as support research to
identify and quantify carbon sinks in forests and farmlands. This package complements the other elements
of the Administration's climate change plan, which include working cooperatively with industry sectors on
initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening efforts to incorporate energy efficiency goals into
Federal procurement and energy use, working with Congress to reward companies taking early, voluntary
action to reduce their emissions, and restructuring the electricity industry. In addition, the Administration
will continue its vigorous diplomatic efforts to fill in key details of the Kyoto Protocol in areas such as
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international emissions trading, as well as to encourage the meaningful participation of developing countries
in efforts to address global warming.
Lands Legacy Initiative
To meet the conservation challenges of a new century, President Clinton and Vice President Gore are
proposing a $1 billion Lands Legacy Initiative -- the largest one-year investment ever in the protection of
America's land resources. This FY 2000 budget proposal -- a 125 percent increase over FY 1999 --
expands federal efforts to save America's natural treasures, and provides significant new resources to states
and communities to protect local green spaces. To sustain these efforts in the new century, the President
commits to work with Congress to create a permanent funding stream beginning in FY2001. In addition,
the President calls on Congress to extend permanent wilderness protection to more than 5 million acres
within 17 national parks and monuments. This landmark initiative charts a new conservation vision for the
21st century, preserving irreplaceable pieces of our natural legacy within easy reach of every citizen.
Livability Agenda Community Planning and Collaboration
To help communities across America grow in ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong,
sustainable economic growth, President Clinton and Vice President Gore are proposing a
comprehensive Livability Agenda providing new tools and resources for state and local
governments. The initiative includes: a record $6.1 billion for public transit, plus $2.2 billion for
other innovative programs to promote improved transportation planning and ease traffic
congestion so commuters can spend less time in traffic and more with their families; $50 million in
matching grants to help neighboring communities develop collaborative "smart growth" strategies;
and $100 million to encourage citizen participation in the design of schools as centers of their
communities, provide communities with new information tools so they can grow according to their
values, and improve public safety by sharing crime data among communities. By delivering tools
and resources to the local level, where issues of growth are most appropriately addressed, this
initiative helps empower citizens to build more "livable communities" for the 21st century.
Livability Agenda: Better America Bonds
To help communities reconnect with their land and water, preserve green space for future generations, and
provide attractive settings for economic development, the Administration is proposing a new financing tool
generating $9.5 billion in bond authority for investments by state, local and tribal governments. The
President's budget will propose tax credits totaling more than $700 million over five years -- to support
Better America Bonds, which can be used to preserve green space, create or restore urban parks, protect
water quality, and clean up brownfields (abandoned industrial sites). The program will be coordinated
through an interagency process.
Clean Air Partnership Fund
To help protect public health and ease the threat of global warming, President Clinton is proposing a new
Clean Air Partnership Fund supporting state, local and private efforts that achieve early reductions in both
greenhouse gas emissions and ground-level air pollutants. The Fund, to be included in the President's FY
2000 budget proposal, will direct new resources to state and local governments to provide financing for
public and private sector projects that accelerate pollution reductions. This new financing will support
projects that go beyond legal requirements and enable communities to achieve clean air goals sooner.
Targeting the financing to projects that reduce both carbon emissions and health-threatening pollutants --
such as smog, soot or air toxics -- will stimulate integrated, cost-effective pollution control strategies. In
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addition, the Fund will spur technological innovation, encourage public-private partnerships, and leverage
substantial non-federal investment in improved air quality. The Fund will be administered by the
Environmental Protection Agency under existing authority.
FOOD SAFETY
Improving Food Safety with Increased Inspections and Surveillance
President Clinton will recommend increasing funds by $105 million -- or 12 percent -- in his FY 2000
budget to ensure food safety by improving inspections for both domestic and imported food and by
enhancing surveillance efforts. The President's proposal would significantly expand inspections of
domestic food products by enabling the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to use more than 60 new
inspectors to inspect, at least once each year, every domestic manufacturer of high-risk food products
(generally, products that are not cooked by consumers) from the current level of every 3 to 4 years.
Additional funds for USDA would permit the broad expansion of its science-based, prevention-oriented
.meat and poultry inspection system, called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). In addition,
the President's budget would increase scrutiny of imported food products by permitting the FDA to more
than double the number of inspections conducted offoreign food processors. The President's budget also
includes a significant component for surveillance and research activities. To help officials track pathogens
back to their source and prevent outbreaks of foodbome illnesses from spreading, the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) will use new funds to almost double the number of laboratories that do "DNA
fingerprinting" of foodbome pathogens.
HEALTH CARE
Addressing Growing Long-Term Care Needs
Over five million Americans, most of whom are elderly, have significant limitations due to illness or
disability and thus require long-term care. The aging of Americans will only increase the need for quality
long-term care options; by 2030, the number of elderly Americans will have doubled, so that one in five
Americans will be elderly. President Clinton has proposed an historic new $6.2 billion initiative to
support both the elderly and Americans with disabilities that have long-term care needs and the millions of
family members who care for them. This initiative includes a $5.5 billion investment in a $1000 tax
credit to compensate for the cost of long-term care services; a new $250 million National Family
Caregiver Program; a $10 million national campaign educating Medicare beneficiaries about
. long-term care options; and a $15 million investment so that the Federal government to offer
long-term care insurance to its employees at group rates. .
Improving Economic Opportunities for Americans With Disabilities
Since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office, the American economy has added 17.7
million new jobs. However, the unemployment rate among working-age adults with disabilities is nearly
75 percent. People with disabilities can bring tremendous energy and talent to the American workforce,
yet some outdated, institutional barriers and fewer opportunities often limit their ability to work. The
President's budget proposes a historic new $2 billion initiative that removes significant barriers to
work for people with disabilities that includes the Work Incentives Improvement Act, which invests
$1.2 billion in providing options for workers with disabilities to buy into Medicaid and Medicare; a
new $700 million investment in a $1,000 tax credit for workers with disabilities; and more than
double the government's current investment, an increase of $35 million, in assistive technologies
8
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that make it possible for individuals with disabilities to work.
Protecting Patients through a Strong, Enforceable Patients Bill of Rights
Once again, the President is calling on Congress to pass a strong federally enforceable patients' bill
of rights. This Health Care Bill of Rights should contain a range of protections, including
guaranteed access to needed specialists, access to emergency room services when and where the need
arises, and access to a meaningful independent and external appeals process for consumers to resolve
their differences with their health plans, and the right to be compensated when a health plans' decisions
cause a patient to be harmed or die. The President is already doing everything he can to implement these
protections, by extending them to the 85 million Americans covered by Federal health plans.
Encouraging Small Businesses to Purchase Health Insurance
Fewer small businesses offer health insurance because of their higher administrative costs and premiums
relative to large businesses. As a result, workers in small firms are less likely to have access to affordable,
job-based health insurance. Nearly half of uninsured workers are in firms with fewer than 25 employees
(relative to 30 percent of all workers). The President is proposing a new $44 million initiative to.
encourage small businesses to offer health insurance to their workers by developing and/or joining
coalitions for purchasing health insurance. This three-part initiative would provide a tax credit to small
businesses who decide to offer coverage by joining coalitions; encourage private foundations to support
coalitions by allowing their contributions towards these organizations to be tax exempt; and offering
technical assistance to new small business coalitions
Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to 65 to Obtain Health Insurance
Americans ages 55 to 65 are one of the fastest growing groups of uninsured Americans. They are
also extremely difficult to insure: they have less access to and a greater risk of losing
employer-based health insurance; and they are twice as likely to have health problems as the
population generally. The President's $1.4 billion proposal gives this vulnerable population three
new ways to gain access to health insurance by: (1) allowing Americans ages 62 to 65 to buy into
Medicare, through a mechanism that preserves the Medicare trust fund; (2) assisting vulnerable
displaced workers 55 and over by offering those who have involuntarily lost their jobs and health
care coverage a similar Medicare buy-in option; and (3) giving Americans 55 and over who have
lost their retiree benefits access to their former employers' health insurance.
Eradicating Polio by the End of the Year 2000
The President's initiative establishes a simple and effective strategy to eliminate the polio virus
worldwide by the year 2000. It includes routine immunizations for children, localized
immunization campaigns targeted to eliminate polio from the last remaining pockets of infection,
and a system to conclusively determine which countries are polio-free.
Increasing Access to Health Care Services for the Uninsured
This new initiative invests $1 billion over 5 years in local communities to integrate traditional safety
net providers, such as public hospitals and clinics, into networks that provide a comprehensive
range of services to uninsured people who are falling through the cracks. Providers will receive
funds to develop the financial, information, and telecommunication systems necessary to monitor
and manage patient needs, as well as funds to expand the range of services these health care
providers deliver.
Providing Critical Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Services
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Approximately 44 million adults and 14 million children suffer from a mental disorder each year.
The Clinton/Gore Administration's new FY2000 budget includes a $70 million increase - the largest
ever -- in the mental health block grant. This 24 percent increase, totaling $358 million, will enable
states to enhance and expand their efforts to people with mental illnesses, including targeting
particularly-hard-to-reach adults and children with severe mental illnesses, improving school
violence abatement programs, helping states provide new effective medications for people of mental
illnesses, and providing services to older Americans who are reluctant to reach mental health
services in traditional mental health settings. This spring, the Administration will also hold the
first ever White House Conference on Mental Health.
Protecting Privacy of Medical Records and Eliminating Genetic Discrimination.
In an era of increasing technology, more and more medical records are traveling through hospitals,
insurers, and even across state lines, threatening the privacy of some of the most sensitive medical
information. The President is challenging the Congress to pass strong bipartisan legislation to
protect the privacy of medical records. The President also has pledged that if Congress does not
pass this legislation this summer, he will take action to implement protections for electronic medical
records within the authority given to him the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996. Finally, as scientists unravel the Human Genome Code, more Americans fear that this
information will be used to discriminate against them rather than improve health. The President
also is asking the Congress to pass legislation that prevents health plans and employers from
discriminating on the basis of genetic discrimination.
The Potential of New Biomedical Research
The issue of biomedical research has captured the imagination of virtually every community, and
we are now poised to make revolutionary advances that could dramatically alter and improve the way we
treat diseases. The President's new $320 million investment in NIH will allow us to take great strides
towards preventing the debilitating and devastating nerve, kidney, and eye complications of diabetes,
effectively combating diseases associated with aging, like Alzheimers and Parkinson's, and
developing vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS.
Providing Basic Health Care for Native Americans
The President's budget proposes an increase for the Indian Health Service (IHS) of $170 million or 8
percent over the FY 1999 level. This increase would enable ms to continue expanding accessible
and high-quality health care to its 1.4 million Native American service users. The budget enables
IHS to further enhance current levels of direct health care services, including providing 34,000
breast cancer screening mammographies to Native American women between ages 50-69; creating
44 new dental unit teams to provide an additional 25,000 dental visits; reducing the incidence of
complications related to chronic diseases such as diabetes through clinical monitoring and health
promotion on life style changes; and enabling approximately 130 new community-based public
health nurses to provide outreach activities, including home visitations, well-child examinations,
immunizations, prenatal care, health fairs, follow-up visits, and missed clinical appointments.
Within the overall IHS increase, the budget continues to support tribal self-determination by
proposing a $35 million (+17%) increase for contract support costs, to cover the costs of existing
tribal contracts and compacts. The President will also continue his efforts to elevate the Director of
illS to the position of Assistant Secretary.
NATIONAL SERVICE
10
The President called on Congress to increase support for AmeriCorps. When he came into office,
President Clinton outlined a vision for a national service program which would allow young people to
serve our nation while earning funds for college. Since 1994, more than 100,000 Americans have served
their country and community through AmeriCorps. Serving in more than 4,000 communities,
AmeriCorps members have taught, tutored or mentored more than 2.6 million children, operated
after-school programs for more than 500,000 at-risk youth, recruited or organized more than 1.7 million
volunteers, and operated more than 40,000 neighborhood safety patrols. In the FY 2000 budget, the
President is proposing a $133 million dollar increase over FY 1999 for the Corporation for National
Service in order to expand AmeriCorps and support other national service programs.
ONE AMERICA
Civil Rights Enforcement
The Clinton Administration's Fiscal Year 2000 budget contains $663 million for civil rights enforcement
agencies and offices -- an increase of $84 million, or 15 percent, over last year's funding. This budget
. maintains the President's commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans: that no one should
be denied such essentials as a job, a home, or a chance at an education because of the color of their skin, a
disability, their gender, or their religion. Highlights of the President's package include: (1) a $13 million
increase for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice -- the largest increase in nine years -- to
permit the Division to expand investigations and prosecutions of criminal civil rights cases (including hate
crimes), fair housing and lending cases, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act; (2) a $14
million Equal Pay Initiative at the EEOC and the Department of Labor; (3) a $33 million overall increase
for the EEOC -- from $279 to $312 million; (4) an $11 million overall increase for the Office of Federal
Contract Compliance (OFCCP) at the Department of Labor to expand the compliance assistance strategy to
encourage Federal contractor compliance through increased outreach, education, and technical assistance;
and (5) $5 million to the Department of Justice for the creation of a Civil Rights Enforcement Partnership
that will provide competitive grants to help build the capacity of States to address specific enforcement
issues within their jurisdictions by hiring additional staff.
Ensuring Equal Pay
According to the Department of Labor, the average woman who works full-time earns just 74 cents
for each dollar that an average man earns. For women of color, the gap is even wider. This gap
is, in part, attributable to differing levels of experience, education, and skill. However, even after
accounting for these factors, a significant pay gap still remains between men and women in similar
jobs. Recognizing this wage disparity, the President is proposing a $14 million equal pay initiative
for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor. This
funding would allow the EEOC to advance outreach to businesses and employees to educate them
about the legal requirements for paying equal wages, provide technical assistance, improve training
for EEOC employees to better identify wage discrimination issues, and launch a public service
announcement campaign to highlight the wage gap. The Department of Labor will continue
monitoring pay equity to reduce occupational segregation; provide enhanced technical assistance
through the Internet such as providing descriptions of industry best practices; increase outreach
and education; and provide a focused effort on women in non-traditional jobs by identifying best
practices and assisting contractors in recruiting and developing qualified individuals in
non-traditional occupations. The President also will continue to call on Congress to pass the
11
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Paycheck Fairness Act which improves the enforcement of wage discrimination laws and provides
for research, education, training of EEOC staff, and outreach on this important subject.
POLITICAL REFORM
Enact Bipartlsan Campaign Finance Reform
The President remains committed to the enactment of bipartisan campaign finance reform. Tonight he is
challenging the Congress to pass bipartisan reform early this year. Acceptable campaign finance reform
legislation must meet five criteria: 1) it must be bipartisan; 2) it must be comprehensive; 3) it must reduce
the amount of money that is raised arid spent on federal elections; 4) it must help level the playing field
between challengers and incumbents; and 5) it cannot favor one party over the other.
REINVENTING GOVERNMENT
Streamlining Government
As part of its reinvention effort to create a government that works better and costs less, the administration
will propose legislation creating new buyout authorities for agencies. We will seek renewal of the authority
to offer voluntary separation incentives to support downsizing efforts in those areas where costlbenefit
analysis indicates that it would be most beneficial. In addition we will support agencies if they need, as in
the case of the Department of Defense and Energy, separate authority to restructure their workforce with
voluntary separation incentives. We have already cut the size of the Federal civilian work force by more
than 345,000 people, creating the smallest work force in 35 years and, as a share of total civilian
employment, the smallest since 1931. As of Sept. 30, 1998, 1.856M people were receiving a
government paycheck. On Sept. 30, 1997, there were 1.872M representing an annual headcount
reduction in 1998 of 16,000 people. It is the smallest number since Sept. 30,1961 when it was 1.825M.
Results for Children
The federal government will enter into ten partnerships with state and local governments that will increase
their flexibility in using federal program dollars using key indicators that reliably chart measurable
improvements in the lives of children. This initiative has four key components: I)The Federal Interagency
Forum on Child and Family Statistics will help partners use key indicators (such as infant and child
mortality, immunization and child crime rates) as benchmarks of child well-being in measuring and
demonstrating progress; 2)Consolidation of planning and reporting for programs with related goals, and
greater flexibility in administering grant funds, saving time and precious resources; 3) Development of new
ways to pool the savings from Federal discretionary grant programs, creating a local A Child Well-Being
Investment Fund to increase services to children and their families. 4) Lessons learned by the partners will
be shared in a how to manual helping to free other communities in cutting red tape and improving
children's services.
Customer Satisfaction Survey
The 32 agencies that serve over 90% of the government's customers will participate in a government-wide
customer satisfaction survey that will compare the quality of their services to the private sector's. Vice
President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) and the President's Management
Council will bring together a group of agency experts to determine the best approach to meet, this
objective. The Vice President has asked that the first customer satisfaction survey be completed this year.
12
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Civil Service Improvement
As part of a larger effort to improve the performance management systems of the Federal workforce and to
encourage a culture of high performance. and labor/management collaboration, the administration is
committed to working with agencies and worker representatives to develop legislative proposals that more
strongly link pay and performance for federal employees and help agencies recruit the best and the
brightest. The proposals will reflect these principles: 1) Permitting flexible pay systems so pay can be
more performance-oriented; 2) Allowing agencies to evaluate their managers, including SES, on a
balanced set of results, including the GPRA goals, customer satisfaction rates and the outcome of
employee satisfaction surveys; 3) Providing agencies with flexible policies for hiring and retaining a high
quality workforce. The legislative proposals would seek to establish a set of standards, based on these
principles, that each agency would use to create a particular system for their situation. Labor and
management, as part of our rejuvenated partnership, would then need to mutually agree upon a plan before
its implementation.
SOCIAL SECURlTY(NEC)
TOBACCO
Protecting Our Children From Tobacco
Every day, 3000 children become regular smokers and 1000 have their lives shortened because of it.
Almost 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking by age 18 and today, 4.5 million children -- 37 percent
of all high school students -- smoke cigarettes. The state tobacco settlement is an important step in the
right direction, but the President believes additional measures must be taken at the national level to reduce
youth smoking and hold the tobacco industry accountable: I) Raise the price of cigarettes, so fewer young
people start to smoke; 2) Reaffirm the Food and Drug Administration's full authority to keep cigarettes out
of the hands of children; 3) Fund critical public health efforts to prevent youth smoking and enact
measures to hold the tobacco industry accountable for reducing youth smoking; and 4) Protect farmers and
farming communities. This plan will help reimburse federal taxpayers for tobacco-related health costs.
To reimburse the Medicare trust fund for the billions of tobacco-related costs it incurs each year, the
President is announcing that the Department of Justice intends to bring suit against the tobacco industry.
CONTINUING THE SUCCESS OF WELFARE REFORM
[Note to BR/EK: we deliberately left some language general to preserve certain announcements for
Jan 25th, e.g., exact caseload numbers, amount of WtW $$, exact immigrant proposal]
Welfare Rolls Decline as More Recipients go to Work
The President announced that the percentage of the U.S. population on welfare is at its lowest level in 30
years and the welfare rolls have fallen by nearly half since the President took office. The percent of
welfare recipients working has tripled since 1992 and all states met the first work participation rates
required under the welfare reform law. Two years ago the President challenged the business community
to create jobs so that people can move from welfare to work. Today, 10,000 companies of all sizes,
industries, and from all regions have joined the Welfare to Work Partnership and are successfully hiring
and retaining former welfare recipients.
13
Additional Welfar~to-Work Assistance for Those Who Need it Most
The President announced that he will propose additional funding for his Welfare-to-Work program to
ensure those remaining on the welfare rolls who face the greatest challenges can succeed in the workforce
and to increase the employment of low-income fathers so they can better support their children. This
funding will help 200,000 people move from welfare to work and will help increase child support
collections, which have gone up 80 percent since 1992.
Fairness for Legal Immigrants
The President believes that legal immigrants should have the same opportunity, and bear the same
responsibility, as other members of society. The President proposes to build on the progress of the
Balanced Budget Act (1997) and the Agricultural Research Act (1998) by further restoring important
disability, health and nutrition benefits for legal immigrants.
[Note: legal immigrant benefits was not in 1114 version of speech. If you think it will stay out, you should
remove this section.]
Welfare to Work Housing Vouchers
The President's budget will include funding for 25,000 new welfare-to-work vouchers housing vouchers in
addition to maintaining funding for the 50,000 vouchers agreed to in last year's budget. Families could
use these housing vouchers to move closer to a new job, to reduce a long commute, or to secure more
stable housing to eliminate emergencies that keep them from getting to work every day on time. These
vouchers, awarded to communities on a competitive basis, will give people on welfare a new tool to make
the transition to a job and succeed in the work place.
14
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