Background on the State of the Union

      Message Creation Date was at 19-JAN-1999 15:02:00

Background on President ClintonO!,s Agenda for the Nation
State of the Union Address
January 19, 1999

21st Century Schools

 Accountability for Results


 Accountability for Results:  End Social Promotion
 Accountability for Results:  Turn Around Low Performing Schools
 Accountability for Results: Put Qualified Teachers in the Classroom
 Accountability for Results:  Issue School Report Cards
 Accountability for Results:  Adopt Discipline Policies
 A National Effort to Reduce Class Size in the Early Grades
 Modern School Buildings to Improve Student Learning
 Recruiting Outstanding New Teachers for Our NationD!,s Public Schools

21st Century Support for American Families

Labor

 Minimum Wage Increase
 Ensuring Equal Pay

Child Care

 Expanding the Child Care Block Grant
 Expanding After-School Opportunities
 Giving Greater Tax Relief for Child Care to Three Million Working Families
 Providing Tax Relief to Parents Who Stay at Home
 FMLA Expansion
 Prohibiting Discrimination Against Parents

Health Care

 Addressing Growing Long-Term Care Needs
 The Potential of New Biomedical Research
 Protecting Patients through a Strong, Enforceable Patients Bill of Rights
 protecting Privacy of Medical Records
 Encouraging Small Businesses to Purchase Health Insurance
 providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to 65 to Obtain Health
Insurance
 Improving Economic Opportunities for Americans With Disabilities
 Improving Health Care Access for Uninsured Workers
 Providing Critical Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Services
 protecting Our Children From Tobacco
 Largest Increase in Family Planning Grants in 15 Years

21st Century Economy

Re-employment Initiative
Helping Adults Who Lack Basic Skills
Welfare Rolls Decline as More Recipients go to Work
Additional Welfare-to-Work Assistance
New Markets Investments Initiative
Empowerment Zones
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI)
Crop Insurance Program
Information Technology Research
Y2K
Financial Architecture
A Firm Commitment to Free and Fair Trade
Traditional Trade Negotiating Authority
Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement
African Growth and Opportunity Act
New WTO Round of Global Trade Negotiations
International Labor Rights
Child Labor


     U. S. Manufacturing Exports

    A Strong America in a New World

      Bringing Hope to Northern Ireland
      Securing Peace in the Balkans
      Promoting Peace in the Middle East
      Defending Against New Threats to AmericaD!,s Security
      Cooperative Threat Reduction Initiative
      Containing and Opposing Saddam Hussein
      Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
      Strengthening AmericaD!,s Military
      Strengthening Alliances and Promoting Freedom
      Payment of United Nations Arrears
      Hurricane Mitch Response
    . U.S. - Africa Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity

    21st Century Communities

    Crime/Drugs

    21st Century Policing Initiative
    Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision
    Making the Brady Waiting Period Permanent
    Preventing Violent Juveniles from Buying Guns
    Child Safety Locks for Handguns
    Helping Make All Schools Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free

    Environment

     Climate Change
     Livability Agenda: Easing Traffic Congestion and Community Planning and
    Collaboration
     Livability Agenda: Better America Bonds
     Lands Legacy Initiative
     Clean Air Partnership Fund

    Service

    AmeriCorps

    political and Government Reform

l   Enact Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform
    Reinventing Government

    One America

    English Literacy/Civics Initiative
    Civil Rights Enforcement
    The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (D!&ENDAD!8)
    The Hate Crimes Prevention Act

    Peroration: the Millennium

    Millennium Communities Program
    Save AmericaD!,s Treasures Program

    21ST CENTURY SCHOOLS



Accountability for Results
In his State of the Union Address,President Clinton will announce a
package of
accountability measures designed to hold students, teachers, and schools to
high standards, and to ensure that school districts and states provide
students
with a high quality education. These proposals will help to lift student
achievement in every public school and close the achievement gap by giving
special attention to disadvantaged students in low-performing schools.

The PresidentD!,s plan marks a sea change in national education policy
for
the first time holding states and school districts accountable for
progress and
rewarding them for results. While insisting that states and local
governments
retain primary responsibility for education, President Clinton will call on
Congress to make sure federal dollars support what works and not what
doesnD!,t.   His proposal emphasizes reforms that a growing number of
states,
cities, and schools across the nation are implementing and that are
producing
clear results.

Specifically, the President will announce that he will send Congress
legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA) to
ensure that schools end social promotion; teachers are qualified to teach
the
subjects they are assigned; states turn around their lowest-performing
schools;
parents get annual report cards on school performance; and schools
institute
effective discipline policies.

Accountability for Results:  End Social Promotion
The PresidentD!,s ESEA proposal will require states and school districts
to end
social promotion -- the practice of promoting students from grade to grade
regardless of whether they have mastered the appropriate 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 graduating from
high
school.

TO ensure that this requirement helps more students succeed, rather than
simply
increasing the number held back, states and school districts would have to
show
how they will help students meet promotion standards on time by (1)
strengthening learning opportunities in the classroom with clear standards,
small classes with well-prepared teachers, high quality professional
development, and use of proven instructional practices;   (2) identifying
students who need help at the earliest possible moment; (3) providing
extended
learning time, including after-school and summer school for students who
need
extra help; and (4) developing an effective remedial plan, with intensive


intervention, for students who still do not meet the standards, so they
can get
back on track in their schooling.

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 now have high school exit exams, and
last
year four states adopted policies to stop promoting unprepared students
from
grade to grade. A growing number of urban school districts, including
Boston,
Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C. are adopting similar
policies.     In Chicago, which three years ago ended the practice of social
promotion in a way that gives students who need it substantial extended
learning time, citywide math and reading scores have gone up every year,
with
the largest gains among the most disadvantaged students. President
ClintonO! , s
FY 2000 budget proposes to triple federal funding for after-school and
summer
school programs (from $200 million to $600 million) to help schools ending
social promotion give students the extra help they need to succeed.

Accountability for Results:   Turn Around Low Performing Schools
The PresidentO!,s ESEA proposal will require states to identify the
schools with
the lowest achievement levels and least improvement and take corrective
action
to turn them around.   These corrective actions, based on a careful
assessment
of each schoolO!,s needs, would include steps such as intensive 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 two years, the proposal would require states to
take
additional corrective actions, such as permitting students to attend other
public schools; reconstituting the school, by fairly evaluating the staff
and
making staff changes as appropriate; or closing the school and reopening
it as
a charter school or with an entirely new staff.   Nineteen states currently
take
similar actions to help improve low-performing schools, and experience
demonstrates that when these interventions are carefully implemented and
accompanied by the resources to support change, schools improve and student
achievement increases.   The presidentO!,s FY 2000 budget contains $200
million
to help states begin taking these steps immediately.

Accountability for Results: Put Qualified Teachers in the Classroom
According to the National Commission on Teaching and AmericaO!,s Future,
one of
the most important factors in improving student achievement is the
knowledge
and skills teachers bring to the classroom. Yet every year, approximately
50,000 individuals teach on "emergency" certificates, which means they do
not


meet the standards the state has set for certification.  In addition,
numerous
teachers teach subjects for which they lack adequate preparation, with
fully
one quarter of secondary school teachers lacking even a minor in their main
teaching 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: for
example, in
schools with the highest minority enrollment, students have a less than 50
percent chance of having a math or science teacher with a license and
degree in
the field.

The presidentD!,s ESEA proposal will require states to adopt performance
examinations for all new teachers, requiring them to demonstrate both
subject-matter knowledge and teaching expertise. The proposal also will
require states and school districts 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.  To support these new
teacher quality standards, the proposal will provide resources to help
states
strengthen teacher certification standards, test new teachers, provide
training
to current teachers, and give incentives to recruit more highly qualified
teachers.

Accountability for Results:  Issue School Report Cards
The PresidentD!,s ESEA proposal will require states to distribute to all
parents
annual report cards for each school and school district, as well as the
state
as a whole. The report cards will include information on student
achievement,
teacher professional qualifications, class size, school safety, and other
factors that will help parents to judge the performance of the schools.
Where
appropriate, the report cards also will show the academic achievement of
ethnic
and racial subgroups, to ensure accoun~ability for helping all students
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. A recent report by Public Agenda, however,
shows that only 31 percent of parents had seen these report cards.   The
PresidentO!,s ESEA proposal will help ensure that all parents in all
states have
access to the information they need to evaluate the quality of their
schools
and identify the areas in which improvement is needed.

Accountability for Results:  Adopt Discipline Policies
Schools must be a place of learning.  President Clinton already has
challenged
states, communities, and schools to take a number of steps to restore
order and


safety, such as adopting school uniforms, enforcing truancy laws, and
imposing
curfews. But in some schools, the breakdown of classroom discipline
remains
one of the biggest obstacles to learning and one of the greatest concerns
for
teachers, students, and parents alike. The PresidentD!,s proposal will
require
states and school districts to adopt discipline policies to make sure
students
have the chance to learn and teachers have the chance to teach.

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 solid foundation in the basics.  Studies show that smaller
classes
help teachers provide more personal attention to students and spend less
time
on discipline; this helps 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 PresidentD!,s seven year, $12.4 billion proposal by
appropriating
$1.2 billion to help local communities hire about 30,000 teachers.  Now
Congress must finish the job by providing the next installment of funds for
local schools to continue progress toward hiring 100,000 new teachers over
seven years.

Modern School Buildings to Improve Student Learning
For students to learn, schools must be well-equipped and be able to
accommodate
smaller class sizes.   In 1998, the American Society of Civil Engineers said
that school buildings represent the nationD!,s most pressing infrastructure
need.   To address this critical need, President Clinton is proposing
federal
tax credits as incentives to help states and school districts to build and
renovate public schools.   Half of the 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.

Recruiting Outstanding New Teachers for Our NationD!,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 quality
teaching force through effective teacher recruitment and preparation. The
PresidentD!,s budget will contain a series of new initiatives and funding
increases to help recruit well prepared individuals to teach where they are
needed the most, in high poverty urban and rural communities.  In
particular,
the PresidentD!,s FY 2000 budget will increase funding for his teacher
recruitment effort enacted in last yearD!,s Higher Education Act D!* to
$35
million from $7.5 million D!* to recruit 7,000 outstanding new teachers


into
high need public schools by giving them scholarships in exchange for a
commitment to teach.   The president will announce other initiatives to
improve
teacher quality at an event later in the week.

21ST CENTURY SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES


LABOR

Minimum Wage Increase
The President called on Congress to pass an increase in the minimum wage.
Despite the strongest economy in a generation, there are still millions of
workers trying to raise a family and struggling to make ends meet.   The
President believes that parents who works hard and play by the rules
should not
have to raise their children in poverty.   That is why, in 1993, he
expanded the
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and, in 1996, fought for and won a minimum
wage
increase. The PresidentO!,s proposal would increase the minimum wage from
$5.15
to $6.15 over two years -- through a 50-cent increase on September 1, 1999
and
a 50-cent increase on September 1, 2000 -- helping to restore the real
value of
the minimum wage to what it was when President Reagan took office in 1981.
This increase will help ensure that -- as costs continue to increase
parents
who work hard and play by the rules can bring up their children out of
poverty.   For someone who works full-time, this minimum wage increase will
mean
an additional $2,000 per year. According to data from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, about 12 million hourly paid workers would benefit directly
from
this pay raise.

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.   Additional details of this
initiative will be announced at a later date.   The President also will
continue
to support the Paycheck Fairness Act, which improves the enforcement of
wage d
iscrimination laws and provides for research, education, training of EEOC
staff, and outreach on this important subject.


CHILD CARE



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.   The
presidentD!,s proposal will: (1) increase 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) provide $3 billion over five years to
promote
early learning; and (3) provide $173 million to improve child care quality.
Additional funds for subsidies are necessary because millions of families
who
are eligible for assistance with their child care costs currently 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.  Additional fu
nding to improve early learning through challenge grants to communities for
children ages zero to five responds to research showing that childrenD!,s
experiences in the earliest years are critical to their development and
ability
to reach school ready to learn. Finally, increased investment in improving
child care is needed to support quality enhancement efforts such as
performing
inspections of child care facilities, providing resource and referral
services
for parents, assisting providers with training and scholarships, and
creating
networks for family day care providers.

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
promot
ion by requiring that students meet academic standards in order to move to
the
next grade. The PresidentD!,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.

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 taxpayerD!,s
employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care, with the


amount of
the credit depending on the taxpayerD!,s income. The PresidentD!,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 PresidentD!,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. The PresidentD!,s plan also includes a
new tax
credit to businesses that provide child care services for their employees.

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 horne with children under one year old to take
advantage of
the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by claiming assumed child care
expenses
of $500. The PresidentD!,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.

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 of FMLA-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.
Leave could be taken to: (1) participate in school activities, such as
parent-teacher conferences; (2) accompany oneD!,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 laws in Alaska, Michigan, New
Jersey and other states, this legislation would protect workers from unfair


assumptions about their commitment to their job that can affect hiring,
advancement, and other employment decisions.  This law would not prohibit
employers from making hiring and promotion decisions on the basis of job
performance, but would ensure that workers are not unfairly discriminated
against simply because they are parents.

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 elderly and disabled
Americans
with long-term care needs and the millions of family members who care for
them. This initiative includes over five years a $5.5 billion investment
in a
$1,000 tax credit to compensate for'the cost of long-term care services; a
new
$625 million National Family Caregiver Program; a $10 million national
campaign
for FY 2000 to educate Medicare beneficiaries about long-term care
options; and
$15 million to allow the Federal government to offer long-term care
insurance
to its employees at group rates.

The Potential of New Biomedical Research
Advances in biomedical research have captured the imagination of all
Americans,
with scientists now poised to make advances that could revolutionize the
way we
treat diseases.  The PresidentD!,s new $320 million investment in NIH will
allow
us to make progress in preventing the complications of diabetes, combating
diseases associated with aging, like Alzheimers and ParkinsonD!,s, and
developing vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS.

protecting Patients through a Strong, Enforceable Patients Bill of Rights
once again, the President is calling on Congress to pass a strong federally
enforceable patientsD!, 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,
acc.ess to a meaningful independent and external appeals process for
consumers
to resolve differences with their health plans, and the right to be
compensated
when a health planD!,s decision causes 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.

Protecting privacy of Medical Records
The President is challenging the Congress to pass strong bipartisan


legislation
to protect the privacy of medical records. The President a}so pledged that
if
Congress does not pass this legislation this summer, he will take action to
implement protections for electronic medical records under the authority
given
to him by the Health Insurance portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Encouraging Small Businesses to Purchase Health Insurance
Many small businesses cannot 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 that 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
presidentO!,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 formeremployersO!, health
insurance.

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 still nearly 75 percent.   People
with
disabilities can bring tremendous energy and talent to the American
workforce,
yet institutional barriers often limit their ability to work.  The
PresidentO!,s


budget proposes a historic new $2 billion initiative that removes
significant
barriers to work for people with disabilities.  It 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 governmentO!,s current investment, an increase of $35 million,
in
assistive technologies that make it possible for individuals with
disabilities
to work.

Improving Health Care Access for Uninsured Workers
This new initiative invests $1 billion over 5 years in local communities to
integrate providers that traditionally provide services to the uninsured,
such
as public hospitals and clinics, into networks that provide a comprehensive
range of services to uninsured people.  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
they
deliver.

Providing Critical Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Services
Approximately 44 million adults and 14 million children suffer from a
mental
disorder each year.  The Clinton/Gore AdministrationO!,s new FY 2000 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 assist people with mental
illnesses, by 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 with 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 Our Children From TobaccoEvery day, 3000 children become regular smokers
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
to reduce youth smoking and hold the tobacco industry accountable: 1)
raise the
price of cigarettes, so fewer young people start to smoke; 2) reaffirm the
Food
and Drug AdministrationO!,s full authority to keep cigarettes out of the


hands
of children; 3) fund critical public health efforts to prevent youth
smoking
and hold the tobacco industry accountable for reducing youth smoking; and
4)
protect farmers and farming conununities. The Presidentr!!,s budget will
use all
the funds resulting from this plan to help reimburse the federal
government for
its annual tobacco-related health costs.

Largest Increase in Family Planning Grants in 15 Years
The PresidentO!,s FY 2000 budget proposal will call for a substantial
increase
in Title X Family Planning grants, which helps provide women with vital
services, including contraception, pregnancy testing, STD screening and
treatment.  Further details of this increase will be announced later this
week.

21ST CENTURY ECONOMY


Re-employment Initiative
In 1995, President Clinton proposed a G.I. Bill for AmericaO!,s Workers to
reform our employment and training system for the 21st-century economy by
empowering individuals, streamlining services, enhancing accountability,
and
increasing flexibility.  For over three years, President Clinton repeatedly
pressed Congress to pass job-training reform based on his original
proposal.
Last year, the Congress finally passed and the President signed
comprehensive
job training reform. .This year, the President proposes a long-term
conunitment
to ensuring that Americans who are displaced from their jobs can get the
training and re-employment services they want and need to get new jobs.

Helping Adults Who Lack Basic Skills
President Clinton will soon announce a major effort to help the more than
44
million adults who perform at the lowest level of literacy to obtain the
skills
they need to succeed in todayO!,s economy and to help inunigrants more fully
integrate into our civic and social life.  This effort includes the 10% tax
credit for employers who provide workplace education programs for their
employees and a new award to recognize O!&High SkillsO!8 conununities for
their
outstanding achievement in promoting adult education as announced by the
Vice
President on January 12. Later this month, the President will announce the
other parts of this initiative.

Welfare Rolls Decline as More Recipients go to Work
The President announced that welfare is at its lowest level in 30 years
and the
welfare rolls have fallen by nearly half since he took office. The
percent of
welfare recipients working has tripled since 1992, and all states met the
first
work overall 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 w~lfare 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 hundreds of
thousands of
welfare recipients.

Additional Welfare-to-Work Assistance
The President announced that he will propose $1 billion for his
Welfare-to-:Work
program to ensure that those remaining on the welfare rolls who face the
greatest challenges can succeed in the workforce and to increase the
employment
of fathers of children on welfare 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.
The President will announce further details of this proposal next week.

New Markets Investments Initiative
One of the great still unmet challenges for the start of the 21st century
is
building economically vibrant communities in those places that our
prosperity
has not yet reached --. inner cities and distressed rural areas. These new
markets here at home have great potential. We must build a bridge between
Wall
Street and our great untapped markets. The PresidentO!,s new markets
initiative
will spur $15 billion in new capital investment in businesses in these
underserved areas through a package of tax credits and guarantees.

Specifically:

New Markets Tax Credit:  A billion dollars of tax credits over five years
worth
up to 25% of the amount of equity invested in a variety of vehicles for
providing equity and credit to businesses in underserved areas.

America's Private Investment Companies (APICs):  Modeled after the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation's (OPIC) successful investment fund program,
this program would create, each year, five new private investment
partnerships
of up to $300 million.  For each new APIC, HUD and the SBA would provide
up to
$200 million in loan guarantees to match $100 million in private
investment,
creating a fund of $300 million for investment in mid-sized firms
expanding or
relocating into underserved areas.

New Market Venture Capital Firms (NMVCs)   SEA will match equity
investment and
technical assistance funds to finance 10-20 new investment partnerships
selected to provide both patient growth capital and expert guidance to
entrepreneurs who need both in order to transform their small businesses
and


great ideas into thriving companies.

SBICs targeted to new marketS: Over 40 years, the SBIC program has helped
more
than 85,000 small companies grow, some from start-ups to household names
like
AOL; but the program has not done enough to help spur growth in underserved
areas.   SBA will provide more flexibility and new financing terms, along
with
aggressive outreach, to promote investment in low- and moderate-income
areas by
SBICs.

New Market Lending Companies (NMLCs): SBA will approve approximately 10 new
non-bank lenders who have a strategy to target their lending to underserved
areas.

Other: Other elements include seed money to expand BusinessLINC
partnerships to
encourage large businesses to work with small businesses in new markets and
reforms to the Specialized Small Business Investment Company (SSBIC) tax
credit
to make it easier to use.

Empowerment Zones
Last week, Vice President Gore named 20 economically distressed
communities as
new Empowerment Zones (EZs). Tonight, the President is reaffirming his
AdministrationD!,s commitment to securing full funding of flexible grant
funding
for the new 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
-- a $30 million increase from FY 1999.

Crop Insurance Program
In the midst of the strongest economy we have enjoyed in decades, many
farmers
are suffering and others are at risk through no fault of their own.
Natural
disasters, coupled with declining demand abroad (exports have accounted for
roughly a third of our farm products) brought historic losses last year.
The
President fought for and got an additional $6 billion in emergency aid for
farmers in 1998. But this is not an unexpected or one-time-only problem.
When
the President signed the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, he called for additional
work to be done to create an adequate safety net for farmers.  In his
State of
the Union, he pledged to work with Members of both parties to achieve the


needed reforms --both in the crop insurance program and in farm income ass
istance --this year.

Information Technology Research
President Clinton and Vice President Gore will propose at least $366
million,
an increase of approximately 30 percent, for the governmentO!,s investment
in
information technology research. The Vice President will announce the
specifics of this initiative later this week.

Y2K
The year 2000 problem results from a computer programming practice that for
over 30 years designated a year by its last two digits, such as "99" for
"1999." When the program has to deal with the year 2000, or "00,"
malfunctions
may occur in software applications or operating processes because the
program
stops, reads the year as "1900," or otherwise produces erroneous
information.
The President and Vice President have been leading the attack on this
problem
by establishing a goal for all Federal programs to be year 2000 compliant
by
March 31, 1999 and by establishing the President's Council on Year 2000
Conversion.   The December quarterly report from the Office of Management
and
Budget indicated that 61% of the Federal Government's mission critical
systems,
such as those for issuing Social Security checks,   were already year 2000
compliant and 90% of the work to repair such systems had been completed
with
testing of the fixes underway. The Council's mandate is to coordinate the
work
of Federal agencies as they correct their own systems and to reach out to
governments at all levels as well as internationally and to the private
sector
to help facilitate their efforts to meet the challenge of crossing into the
next century without noticeable difficulty.

Financial Architecture
As the worldO!,s strongest economy and largest exporter, we have a major
interest in addressing the global financial crisis and in designing a
global
financial architecture for the 21st century. Starting last year, the
President
laid out a strategy working with key emerging and industrial economies to
address the current crisis and restore recovery, by providing the IMF
expanded
resources and new tools, strengthening social safety nets to protect the
most
vulnerable, developing systemic approaches to rebuilding financial and
banking
sectors, and establishing O!&precautionaryD!8 means for assisting
countries with
strong policies ward off contagion.  Longer term, we must prevent the
disruptive cycle of boom and bust by increasing openness and
accountability, str
engthening national financial systems and international surveillance,
providing


more orderly mechanisms for crisis response, and ensuring the
participation of
the private sector in crisis prevention and mitigation. This work will
culminate in the meeting of G-7 leaders in Cologne Germany in June.

A Firm Commitment to Free and Fair Trade
The global financial crisis has touched the lives of many Americans.  The
surge
in low-priced steel imports into the united States has adversely impacted
our
steel companies, workers and communities. This Administration is taking
forceful steps to vigorously enforce our trade laws, to engage major
exporting
and importing nations to trade fairly and to bear their fair share of the
import burden, to help crisis-stricken countries achieve recovery, and to
provide American steel communities, workers and companies with the
resources
they need to adjust to the forces of globalization. Japan accounts for
almost
half of the surge in steel imports into the United States, and has
increased
exports of hot rolled sheet steel by 400 percent from 1997 to 1998. We
have
informed Japan it must trade fairly, and we expect its exports to fall to
appropriate pre-crisis levels. We are prepared to take appropriate
WTO-consistent actions under our trade laws to ensure that happens
including,
if necessary, self-initiated actions under section 201 and our anti-dumping
laws. The President has made clear that open, rules-based trade is
essential
for both global economic recovery and continued u.S. prosperity.

Traditional Trade Negotiating Authority
The President called for a new consensus granting him O!&fast trackO!8
trade
authority to expand AmericaO!,s opportunities in the global economy while
ensuring that expanded trade benefits all citizens, promoting prosperity,
respecting worker rights, and protecting the environment. With a global
round
of trade negotiations just around the corner and with the global financial
crisis threatening AmericaO!,s hard won economic gains, 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. This authority has been given to every president since 1974
in
order to pursue AmericaO!,s national interest in the global economy.
without
trade authority, America's role as the largest exporter in the world could
be
put in jeopardy and AmericaO!,s ability to continue creating higher-paying
jobs
for more Americans could be undermined.

Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement
The President will work with Congress toward swift passage of legislation
expanding caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) trade ties with Caribbean and
Central American countries. This trade legislation will create
opportunities


for American companies and workers even as it provides enhanced market
access
and economic stimulus for countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch.  The
Administration is strongly committed to the negotiations to conclude the
Free
Trade Area of the Americas by 2005, and expects to achieve
commercially-meaningful outcomes by the end of the year, which will expand
U.S.
export opportunities in Latin America.

African Growth and Opportunity Act
In the State of the Union, President Clinton called upon Congress to pass
the
African Growth and Opportunity Act, an important and groundbreaking piece
of
legislation which recognizes African countriesD!, efforts to institute
sound
economic policies and reform.  The philosophy of this bill is simple:
America
stands ready to help those African countries that undertake difficult
reforms
to build a better future.  Effective aid, combined with strong reforms and
increased trade and investment, will help bring Africa into the global
economy
and create new markets for U.S. exports. American businesses, farmers, and
workers all stand to benefit from expanding our trade with the largest
underdeveloped market in the world.

New WTO Round of Global Trade Negotiations
The President is calling for the launch of an ambitious new WTO Round when
world trade ministers meet in the United States this November to shape the
world trading system in the 21st century. The President is calling for a
new
type of Round for the new century, which could yield concrete early
results in key areas, ensure that labor and environmental standards are fully
protected so
that trade opening does not lead to a race to the bottom and result in a
more
open and accountable WTO system. The United States must playa leadership
role: as the worldD!,s largest exporter, we have the most at stake. A
successful accelerated Round of negotiations will create important new
opportunities for AmericaD!,s world class farmers and ranchers,
manufacturers,
and service providers to increase sales in foreign markets.  We will see
new
opportunities to sell our goods and services (such as express delivery,
environmental and energy services, electronic commerce and professional
services) where the preponderance of global trade is not subject to WTO
rules,
and further removal of tariffs because many of our trading partners in
Asia,
Latin America, and elsewhere retain far higher tariff rates than the United
States. We will also seek to further open government procurement
practices,
ensure fair global competition, and protect intellectual property rights
(IPR)
in areas where the United States leads the world (software, film/video,
music,
pharmaceuticals).  The U.S. Trade Representative will chair the 1999
meeting of


WTO trade ministers in the United States.

International Labor Rights
The global economy holds the promise of a higher standard of living for
more
people in more countries, but we must ensure that spirited competition
among
nations never becomes a race to the bottom on labor standards.   President
ClintonO!,s FY 2000 budget will provide $40 million for the first time
ever to
help developing countries implement core labor standards and build social
safety net programs such as unemployment insurance and pensions.
Specif ically,
the United States will provide:  $25 million to establish a new
multilateral
program at the International Labor Organization (ILO) to provide technical
assistance to core labor standards efforts; $9.5 million to the Department
of
Labor to help our trading partners.strengthen their implementation
mechanisms;
and $5 million to the Department of State to encourage cooperative efforts
to
eliminate international sweatshops.

Child Labor
Last year the President fought for and obtained a ten-fold increase in the
U.S.
contribution to the International Program for the Elimination of Child
Labor
a $30 million dollar contribution making the U.S. the world's leader in the
fight to reduce the most intolerable forms of child labor. This year, he
commits the U.S. to press for a new international convention to ban the
most
intolerable forms of child labor -- hazardous work, forced or indentured
labor,
and work by the very young.   In addition, the President's budget will
maintain
the same dramatic level of IPEC funding while adding a new $10 million
program
-- "School Works" -- through U.S. AID to improve access to education to
make it
easier to get kids out of hazardous workplaces. In addition, the proposal
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 (almost
doubling the enforcement budget from $3 million to $5 billion) and an
increase
of $4 million (above last year's $3 million) for domestic enforcement of
labor
laws. in areas vulnerable to child labor -- the garment industry and
agriculture.

U. S. Manufacturing Exports
Manufacturing exports have been a key engine of AmericaO!,s sustained
economic
expansion. However, the global financial crisis has put that progress at
risk. To help American manufacturers safeguard their hard-won gains in
foreign
markets and expand into new growth areas, the Administration is launching a
$108 million initiative to spur nearly $2 billion in additional U.S.


exports,
which will sustain or create 16,000 high-wage American manufacturing jobs.
First, the initiative boosts funding for the Export-Import Bank by 10
percent
($81 million) to keep U.S. products -- from aircraft parts to capital
equipment
to environmental technology -- flowing to emerging markets where commercial
banks have withdrawn.  Second, the Trade Development Agency will receive an
additional $4 million for feasibility studies to enable U.S. companies to
participate in major export-generating infrastructure projects overseas.
Third, the initiative provides $14 million for the Department of
ConunerceD! , s
International Trade Administration (ITA) to increase resources for export
advocacy and service delivery to small manufacturers.  Finally, the
initiative
provides $9 million for ITA and CommerceD!,s National Institute of
Standards and
Technology to help developing countries establish a legal and regulatory
infrastructure to make it easier for U.S. firms to export.


A STRONG AMERICA IN A NEW WORLD

Bringing Hope to Northern Ireland
President ClintonD!,s intensive diplomatic efforts helped achieve the
landmark
Good Friday Accord last spring, bringing new governing structures and a
new era
of cooperation to Northern Ireland.  By an overwhelming margin, the people
of
Northern Ireland and Ireland have chosen a peaceful future after a
generation
of bloodshed.  President Clinton reaffirmed his support for full
implementation
of the agreement, so Northern Ireland can pursue a prosperous, democratic
course, free of violence and terror.   The U.S. will also continue to
support
the International Fund for Ireland, which promotes reconciliation through
economic regeneration projects targeting disadvantaged Irish border
counties
and Northern Ireland.

securing Peace in the Balkans
The U.S. continues to help its European allies in consolidating the peace
in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Through 1999, our priorities will be to accelerate
Bosnia's transition to a market economy, increase the momentum on refugee
returns, improve the rule of law, reinforce central institutions and press
ahead with media and education reform.  The NATO-led Stabilization Force,
which
continues to playa vital role in implementing Dayton, will continue to
draw
down.  This will allow a further reduction in the U.S. troop contribution,
which is already one-third the size of the U.S. contribution to the
previous
Implementation Force. The U.S. is also leading efforts to end the
repression
and a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis.

promoting Peace in the Middle East


President Clinton believes that the best long-term strategy for Israeli
security includes a secure peace with the palestinians, recognition of
their
legitimate rights, and a comprehensive, secure peace in the Middle East.
The
President' efforts at Wye River helped put the peace process back on track
after eighteen months of stalemate. At a time when the U.S. is calling on
Israel and the Palestinians to meet t'he commitments they unde:t:took at Wye,
the
U.S. must meet its responsibilities.   The President's supplemental request
would bolster Israel's security, strengthen the Palestinian economy and
lend a
hand to a trusted friend of peace, Jordan.

Defending Against New Threats to AmericaD!,s Security
In an era of rapid technological change, Americans are faced with new
challenges to our national security from biological and chemical attacks,
and
attacks on our computer networks.  President Clinton has taken the lead in
addressing these threats by developing new strategies to combat terrorism,
prepare for weapons of mass destruction attacks, and protect our critical
infrastructure. To prepare for the threat of biological and chemical
weapons,
President Clinton has called for an increase in funding for vaccine
research
and public health surveillance in his FY 2000 budget. He has also
established
a National Domestic Preparedness Office, which will provide a integrated
federal program to train and equip those who would first respond to a
biological or chemical weapons attacks, and develop emergency plans for 120
metropolitan areas nationwide. To protect our computer networks from cyber
terrorism, he has called for an initiative to train and hire information
teChnology experts to safeguard government computer networks, and an
initiative
to integrate systems designed to monitor computer intrusion.  The
President has also launched new public-private information sharing centers to foster:
better
preparation for cyberattacks and a computer security initiative aimed at
safeguarding networks from covert installation of destructive computer
code.

Cooperative Threat Reduction Initiative
President Clinton announced an enhanced effort to work with Russia and
other
former Soviet countries to reduce the risk that materials, technologies,
and
expertise for weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles will fall
into
the hands of rogue nations or terrorists -- and to help former Soviet
countries
implement existing arms control agreements. The President's five year
budget
plan calls for a 70% expansion of threat reduction programs.  Our
initiative
emphasizes engaging weapons scientists and institutes in civilian research,
promoting nuclear security by dismantling and destroying warheads and
dangerous
materials, tightening export controls, and accelerating Russian efforts to
withdraw troops stationed outside Russia.  None of these funds will be
available to entities that engage in dangerous missile or nuclear


assistance to
Iran.    The Administration will continue to help Russia to develop an
effective export control system that keeps dangerous technologies away from
Iran and others.  And we will continue to apply penalties against Russian
entities that violate international nonproliferation standards.

We will also continue our efforts to restrain North KoreaD!,s nuclear and
missile programs, halt a nuciear and missile race between India and
Pakistan,
and press China to playa more constructive role in efforts to contain the
spread of mass destruction weapons and missiles. And we will move forward
with
international negotiations on the PresidentD!,s proposal to strengthen our
ability to determine whether nations are complying with the Biological
Weapons
Convention.

Containing and Opposing Saddam Hussein
President Clinton stressed that we will continue to contain Iraq as long
as it
poses a threat to its neighbors and continues to conceal its weapons of
mass
destruction programs.   Saddam HusseinD!,s actions demonstrate that he
does not
intend to comply with UN security council resolutions, even in the face of
international pressure. We therefore are pursuing a two.-track policy:
advancing initiatives aimed at increasing availability of food and
medicine for
the Iraqi people while actively supporting efforts by Iraqi opposition
groups
to replace Saddam's regime.

 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
 The President's call for the Senate to act without delay to give its
 advice and
 consent to ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) will
 help
 prevent a new arms race and make it more difficult for non-nuclear states
 to
 develop these devices of destruction.  The 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.  If the United States fails to ratify before September, we will
 undercut our own efforts to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime
 and
 curb further nuclear arms development, particularly in South Asia.

Strengthening AmericaD!,s Military
President Clinton proposed a six-year, sustained increase in defense
spending


to ensure that AmericaD!,s armed forces are fully prepared to meet the
challenges of the next century and remain the worldD!,s best-trained,
best-equipped fighting force -- reversing a trend begun a decade ago.  The
presidentD!,s budget for next year will provide $12 billion more than we
had
planned last year for FY 2000 to meet readiness and modernization needs.
These
funds will strengthen recruitment and retention programs; enhance training,
unit operations and flight hour programs, and provide additional spare
parts.
Funds will also be devoted to modernizing weapons programs, by replacing
aging
equipment with more technologically advanced systems, taking advantage of
cutting edge computer technology, and developing defense systems against
both
theater and strategic ballistic missiles.  Finally, the PresidentO!,s
defense
spending proposal will improve pay and benefits for AmericaD!,s men and
women in
uniform,ensuring that they enjoy the quality of life they deserve.

Strengthening Alliances and Promoting Freedom
Promoting freedom by strengthening our alliances and building partnerships
in
Europe, Asia, and Latin America is central to President ClintonD!,s foreign
policy agenda.  President Clinton will convene a NATO Summit in Washington
this
April to commemorate its first fifty years and to chart a course for the
next
century. Unprecedented in size and scope, this golden anniversary summit
marks
a milestone in President ClintonO!,s efforts to strengthen the alliance and
build a more integrated, democratic and peaceful Europe.  It will reaffirm
NATOD!,s commitment to building its relationships with Russia and Ukraine
and to
the continuing evolution of the Partnership for Peace as a pillar of
transatlantic security.  Forty-four leaders from both sides of the
Atlantic wi
11 come to Washington to welcome its newest members --Poland, Hungary, and
the
Czech Republic -- and to forge a new consensus about the need for joint
action
to face new challenges to our shared security, including regional
conflicts and
the growing threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
NATO will also develop a new Strategic Concept, the blueprint guiding the
AllianceO!,s defense planning and policies, and take steps towards
ensuring that
NATOD!,s door remains open to prospective new members.

Payment of Unit'ed Nations Arrears
President Clinton highlighted the need for congressional action to meet
U.S.
financial obligations to the United Nations.    From critical peacekeeping
operations to life sustaining relief and development efforts in Africa, the
Middle East, Europe, and around the globe, the United Nations is an
essential
institution for the promotion of U.S. objectives across a broad spectrum of
issues. Our interests abroad       from maintaining political stability, to


averting human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, to promoting
international
standards in areas such as aviation safety -- demand that we meet our
international obligations and increase our leverage in international
organizations.

Hurricane Mitch Response
President Clinton reaffirmed our commitment to assist in the
reconstruction of
those Central American countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch. Over the
past
three months, more than 5,000 of our armed forces have provided critical
relief
and rehabilitation assistance to the people of Honduras, Nicaragua,
Guatemala
and El Salvador. This has included the initial response -- in which u.S.
troops rescued many hundreds of Central Americans and delivered food,
medical
equipment and other essential supplies -- as well as more recent
reconstruction
efforts that have included bridge building and road repair.  In addition,
the
u.S. Agency for International Development and the u.S. Department of
Agriculture have provided food, medical aid, reconstruction material and
other
support. The U.S. contribution to the relief effort has totaled $300
million
thus far, and President Clinton intends to increase substantially our aid
to
longer term reconstruction in the weeks and months to come.

u.S. - Africa Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity
The United States has important and growing strategic interests in Africa.
Africa supplies over 13% of our oil imports and represents the largest
untapped
market in the world.     Unfortunately, conflict still undermines
AfricaD! ,s vasOt
potential and our own strategic interests. That is why we aim to build a
stable and prosperous Africa -- a strong partner for security and peace,
and an
ally against drug trafficking, international crime, terrorism, the spread
of
disease and environmental degradation.   President ClintonD!,s historic
trip to
the continent last year highlighted the new opportunities for partnership
between our nation and the nations of Africa.



21ST CENTURY COMMUNITIES


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 presidentO!,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, and crime lab improvements; and (3) making an unprecedented
commi
tment 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
Numerous studies confirm 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 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 the Brady Waiting Period Permanent
The Brady Law, which requires background checks of all prospective 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 LawD!,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.

Preventing Violent Juveniles from Buying Guns
Violent juveniles should be treated as adults for their adult crimes, and
stopped from getting weapons to hurt again.   The President will propose
legislation to ban violent juveniles from buying guns for life. The
PresidentD!,s proposal would extend the Brady Law to violent juveniles,
closing
the loophole under current law which permits youths convicted in juvenile
court
for certain violent and drug offenses to buy handguns on their 21st


birthday.

Child Safety Locks for Handguns
Child safety locking devices can reduce the unauthorized use of handguns,
by a
child at play or a teen looking to commit a crime. And many youths have to
look no further than their own home to get access to a gun: a third of all
privately-owned handguns are left both loaded and unlocked.   To address
this
problem, the PresidentD!,s proposal would require federally-licensed
firearms
dealers to sell a child safety lock with every handgun -- to help prevent
youths from hurting themselves or each other.

Helping Make All Schools Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free
President Clinton is proposing a significant overhaul of the nearly $600
million Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program to provide more
effective prevention programs for the reduction of drugs and violence in
schools, more accountability for results, and better targeting to those
schools
that need the most assistance .. Under the PresidentD! ,s proposal, schools
would
be required to adopt rigorous, comprehensive school safety plans that
include:
tough, but fair, discipline policies; safe passage to and from schools;
effective drug and violence policies and programs; annual school safety and
drug use report cards; links to after school programs; efforts to involve
parents; and crisis management plans.


ENVIRONMENT

Climate Change
On the heels of the announcement that 1998 surpassed 1997 as the warmest
year
on record, the PresidentD!,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
AdministrationD!,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 international
emissions trading, as well as to encourage the meaningful participation of


developing countries in efforts to address global warming.

Livability Agenda: Easing Traffic Congestion and 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 $2.4 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 $iO 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 PresidentO!,s budget will propose tax credits totaling
almost
$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.

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 proposed for the protection of
AmericaO!,s land
resources. This FY 2000 budget proposal -- a 125 percent increase over FY
1999
-- expands federal efforts to save AmericaO!,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 FY
2001.
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.

Clean Air Partnership Fund
To help protect public health and ease the threat of global warming,
President
Clinton is proposing $200 million in FY 2000 funding for a new Clean Air
Partnership Fund supporting stat-e, 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 PresidentD!,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 demonstration 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
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.


SERVICE

AmeriCorps
President Clinton called on Congress to increase support for AmeriCorps.
When
he came into office, the President 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,
AffieriCorps 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.


POLITICAL AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

Enact Bipartisan 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 and 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
We have already cut the size of the Federal civilian work force by more
than
333,000 people, creating the smallest work force in 35 years and, as a
share of
total civilian employment, the smallest since 1933.   But can be done.  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 to reduce the further the size of government.    To
improve customer satisfaction, the 32 agencies that serve over 90% of the
governmentD!,s customers will participate in a government-wide customer
satisfaction survey that will compare the quality of their services to the
private sectorD!,s.   To produce better 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.   Finally, to assist Federal agencies to provide better customer
service and ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent to produce results,
President Clinton is proposing significant civil service improvement
initiatives. these improvements, which will result in the most dramatic
change
in the Federal workplace in 20 years, will increase the link between pay
and
good performance, and provide agencies with flexibilities to hire, reward,
and
retain the high-quality, diverse workforce they need to meet their mission
and
respond to increasing customer and workplace demands.


ONE AMERICA

English Literacy/Civics Initiative
President Clinton is proposing an initiative to help states and communities
provide expanded access to high-quality English-language instruction,
linked to
practical instruction in civics and life skills including how to navigate
the
workplace and public education system. This initiative is designed both to
help meet the extraordinary demand for English and civics instruction in
immigrant communities and to demonstrate our shared commitment to fully
integrating new Americans into our social and civic life.  The initiative
is
part of a broader effort to reduce adult literacy.  Further details of this
initiative will be provided at a later date.



Civil Rights Enforcement
The Clinton AdministrationO!,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 yearD!,s funding.   This budget maintains the
PresidentO! ,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 PresidentO!,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
Disabili ties
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; (5) a $7 million
overall increase from last year -- from $40 million to $47 million -- for
HUDO!,s efforts to reduce housing discrimination, including funding for the
second year of a three-year audit-based enforcement initiative; and (6) $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.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (O!&ENDAO!8)
This bill would outlaw discrimination in hiring, firing, and promotions
based
on sexual orientation.  It is designed to protect the rights of all
Americans
to participate in the job market without fear of unfair discrimination.
The
Act provides an exemption for small businesses, the Armed Forces, and
religious
organizations, including schools and other educational institutions that
are
substantially controlled or supported by religious organizations. The bill
specifically prohibits preferential treatment on the basis of sexual
orientation, including quotas. President Clinton and Vice President Gore
are
the first President and Vice President ever to back civil rights
legislation
for gays and lesbians.  President Clinton originally announced his support
for
the legislation in October 1995.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act


  This measure expands the principal federal hate crimes statute. The current
  statute prohibits any use of force that is based on a person's race, color,
  religion, or national origin and that is intended to interfere with certain
  specified federally protected activities. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act
  would
  strengthen and expand the ability of the Justice Department to prosecute
  hate
  crimes by removing needless jurisdictional requirements for existing
  crimes.
  Further, it would give Federal prosecutors the power to prosecute hate
  crimes
  committed because of the victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability .
. President Clinton originally announced his support for the bill on
  November 10,
  1997 at the first-ever White House Conference on Hate Crimes.


 PERORATION: THE MILLENNIUM

Millennium Communities Program
The President invites community leaders and all Americans to be part of our
national Millennium program, using the millennium as an opportunity to
engage
in meaningful activities that mark this milestone in human history.
Millennium
Communities is a new program of the White House Millennium Council in
partnership with major intergovernmental associations which represent local
elected officials and Native American leaders. The special designation of
"Millennium Community" will be awarded to those communities which propose
plans
to carry out the national theme, "Honor the Past -- Imagine the Future."
Elected officials will submit plans that preserve their history and prepare
citizens for the 21st century, and their respective associations will
recommend
the official designation.   Millennium Communities will receive the use of
the
national millennium logo and motto, register their projects on a new web
site
and be honored in other ways.

 save AmericaO!,s Treasures Program
 Save America's Treasures is a national millennium program, designed as a
 public-private partnership, to preserve our deteriorating historic sites,
 art,
artifacts, documents and monuments, so that they may inform future
generations
of the American story.  President Clinton requested, and Congress
appropriated
$30 million to Save America's Treasures in FY99. The private sector
partner,
the National Trust for Historic Preservation, created the Millennium
Committee
to Save America's Treasures, with Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Honorary
Chair. That group has sparked attention and raised contributions which
already
surpass the federal commitment. Mrs. Clinton has visited over twenty
historic
sites and collections since last July, bringing recognition and support to
the
places and objects that embody our heritage and culture.  Some of the


preservation projects underway are the conservation of the Star-Spangled
Banner
at the Smithsonian Institution, the re-encasement of the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives, and the new
exhibition space at the Thomas Edison National Historic Site. The
Administration's forthcoming budget will propose additional funding for
Save
America's Treasures.
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Hex-Dump Conversion                      State of the Union Address              .
                                                        January 19, 1999
21st Century Schools                                               Information Technology Research
 Accountability for Results                                       Y2K
 Accountability for Results: End Social Promotion                 Financial Architecture
 Accountability for -Results:        Tum Around Low               A Firm Commitment to Free and Fair Trade
  Performing Schools                                               Traditional Trade Negotiating Authority
 Accountability for Results: Put Qualified Teachers in the        Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement
  Classroom                                                        African Growth and Opportunity Act
 Accountability for Results: Issue School Report Cards            New WTO Round of Global Trade Negotiations
 Accountability for Results: Adopt Discipline Policies            International Labor Rights
 A National Effort to Reduce Class Size in the Early              Child Labor
  Grades                                                          U. S. Manufacturing Exports
 Modem School Buildings to Improve Student Learning
 Recruiting Outstanding New Teachers for Our Nation's          A Strong America in a New World
  Public Schools                                                   Bringing Hope to Northern Ireland
                                                                   Securing Peace in the Balkans
21st Century Support for American Families                         Promoting Peace in the Middle East
Labor                                                              Defending Against New Threats to America's Security
   Minimum Wage Increase                                          Cooperative Threat Reduction Initiative
   Ensuring Equal Pay                                             Containing and Opposing Saddam Hussein
                                                                   Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Child Care                                                         Strengthening America's Military
 Expanding the Child Care Block Grant                             Strengthening Alliances and Promoting Freedom
 Expanding After-School Opportunities                             Payment of United Nations Arrears
 Giving Greater Tax Relief for Child Care to Three Million        Hurricane Mitch Response
  Working Families                                                 U.S. - Africa Partnership for Economic Growth and
 Providing Tax Relief to Parents Who Stay at Home                  Opportunity
 FMLA Expansion
 Prohibiting Discrimination Against Parents                    21st Century Communities
Health Care                                                     CrimelDrugs
 Addressing Growing Long-Term Care Needs                          21 st Century Policing Initiative
 The Potential of New Biomedical Research                         Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision
 Protecting Patients through a Strong, Enforceable Patients       Making the Brady Waiting Period Permanent
  Bill of Rights                                                   Preventing Violent Juveniles from Buying Guns
 Protecting Privacy of Medical Records                            Child Safety Locks for Handguns
 Encouraging Small Businesses to Purchase Health                  Helping Make All Schools Safe, Disciplined,       and
  Insurance                                                         Drug-Free
 Providing New Options for Americans Ages 55 to 65 to         Environment
  Obtain Health Insurance
 Improving Economic Opportunities for Americans With              Climate Change
  Disabilities                                                     Livability Agenda: Easing Traffic Congestion      and
 Improving Health Care Access for Uninsured Workers                Community Planning and Collaboration
 Providing Critical Mental Health Prevention and                  Livability Agenda: Better America Bonds
  Treatment Services                                               Lands Legacy Initiative
 Protecting Our Children From Tobacco                             Clean Air Partnership Fund
 Largest Increase in Family Planning Grants in 15 Years       Service
                                                                   AmeriCorps
21st Century Economy
                                                               Political and Government Reform
 Re-employment Initiative
 Helping Adults Who Lack Basic Skills                             Enact Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform
 Welfare Rolls Decline as More Recipients go to Work              Reinventing Government
 Additional Welfare-to-Work Assistance                        One America
 New Markets Investments Initiative
                                                                   English Literacy/Civics Initiative
 Empowerment Zones
                                                                   Civil Rights Enforcement
 Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
                                                                   The Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("END A")
  (CDFI)
                                                                   The Hate Crimes Prevention Act
 Crop Insurance Program
 Millennium Communities Program          Automated Records Management System
. S~ve America's Treasures Program       Hex-Dump Conversion




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                                   21ST CENTURY SCHOOLS


Accountability for Results
In his State of the Union Address, President Clinton will announce a package of accountability measures
designed to hold students, teachers, and schools to high standards, and to ensure that school districts and
states provide students with a high quality education. These proposals will help to lift student
achievement in every public school and close the achievement gap by giving special attention to
disadvantaged students in low-performing schools.

The President's plan marks a sea change in national education policy -- for the first time holding states and
school districts accountable for progress and rewarding them for results.. While insisting that states and
local governments retain primary responsibility for education, President Clinton will call on Congress to
make sure federal dollars support what works and not what doesn't. His proposal emphasizes reforms that
a growing number of states, cities, and schools across the nation are implementing and that are producing
clear results.

Specifically, the President will announce that he will send Congress legislation to reauthorize the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to ensure that schools end social promotion; teachers
are qualified to teach the subjects they are assigned; states turn around their lowest-performing schools;
parents get annual report cards on school performance; and schools institute effective discipline policies.

Accountability for Results: End Social Promotion
The President's ESEA proposal will require states and school districts to end social promotion "- the
practice of promoting students from grade to grade regardless of whether they have mastered the
appropriate 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 graduating from high school.

To ensure that this requirement helps more students succeed, rather than simply increasing the number
held back, states and school districts would have to show how they will help students meet promotion
standards on time by (1) strengthening learning opportunities in the classroom with clear standards, small
classes with well-prepared teachers, high quality professional development, and use of proven instructional
practices; (2) identifying students who need help at the earliest possible moment; (3) providing extended
learning time, including after-school and summer school for students who need extra help; and (4)
developing an effective remedial plan, with intensive intervention, for students who still do not meet the
standards, so they can get back on track in their schooling.

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 now have high
school exit exams, and last year four states adopted policies to stop promoting unprepared students from
grade to grade. A growing number of urban school districts, including Boston, Philadelphia, New York
City, and Washington D.C. are adopting similar policies. In Chicago, which three years ago ended the
practice of social promotion in a way that gives students who need it substantial extended learning time,
citywide math and reading scores have gone up every year, with the largest gains among the most
disadvantaged students. President Clinton's FY 2000 budget proposes to triple federal funding for
after-school and summer school programs (from $200 million to $600 million) to help schools ending
social promotion give students the extra help they need to succeed.

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Accountability for Results: Turn Around Low Performing Schools
The President's ESEA proposal will require states to identify the schools with the lowest achievement
levels and least improvement and take corrective action to tum them around. These corrective actions,
based on a careful assessment of each school's needs, would include steps such as intensive 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 two years, the proposal
would require states to take additional corrective actions, such as permitting students to attend other public
schools; reconstituting the school, by fairly evaluating the staff and making staff changes as appropriate; or
closing the school and reopening it as a charter school or with an entirely new staff. Nineteen states
currently take similar actions to help improve low-performing schools, and experience demonstrates that
when these interventions are carefully implemented and 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.

Accountability for Results: Put Qualified Teachers in the Classroom
According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, one of the most important
factors in improving student achievement is the knowledge and skills teachers bring to the classroom. Yet
every year, approximately 50,000 individuals teach on "emergency" certificates, which means they do not
meet the standards the state has set for certification. In addition, numerous teachers teach subjects for
which they lack adequate preparation, with fully one quarter of secondary school teachers lacking even a
minor in their main teaching 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: for example, in schools with the highest minority enrollment, students have a
less than 50 percent chance of having a math or science teacher with a license and degree in the field.

The President's ESEA proposal will require states to adopt performance examinations for all new teachers,
requiring them to demonstrate both subject-matter knowledge and teaching expertise. The proposal also
will require states and school districts 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. To
support these new teacher quality standards, the proposal will provide resources to help states strengthen
teacher certification standards, test new teachers, provide training to current teachers, and give incentives
to recruit more highly qualified teachers.

Accountability for Results: Issue School Report Cards
The President's ESEA proposal will require states to distribute to all parents annual report cards for each
school and school district, as well as the state as a whole. The report cards will include information on
student achievement, teacher professional qualifications, class size, school safety, and other factors that
will help parents to judge the performance of the schools. Where appropriate, the report cards also will
show the academic achievement of ethnic and racial subgroups, to ensure accountability for helping all
students 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. A recent report by
Public Agenda, however, shows that only 31 percent of parents had seen these report cards. The
President's ESEA proposal will help ensure that all parents in all states have access to the information they
need 10 evaluate the quality of their schools and identify the areas in which improvement is needed.

Accountability for Results: Adopt Discipline Policies
Schools must be a place of learning. President Clinton already has challenged states, communities, and

                                                              4
                              Hex-Dump Conversion

schools to take a number of steps to restore order and safety, such as adopting school unifonns, enforcing
truancy laws, and imposing curfews. But in some schools, the breakdown of classroom discipline remains
one of the biggest obstacles to learning and one of the greatest concerns for teachers, students, and parents
alike. The President's proposal will require states and school districts to adopt discipline policies to make
sure students have the chance to learn and teachers have the chance to teach.

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 solid foundation in the basics. Studies show that smaller classes help
teachers provide more personal attention to students and spend less time on discipline; this helps 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 by appropriating $1.2 billion to help local
communities hire about 30,000 teachers. Now Congress must fmish the job by providing the next
installment of funds for local schools to continue progress toward hiring 100,000 new teachers over seven
years.

Modern School Buildings to Improve Student Learning
For students to learn, schools must be well-equipped and be able to accommodate smaller class sizes. In
1998, the American Society of Civil Engineers said that school buildings represent the nation's most
pressing infrastructure need. To address this critical need, President Clinton is proposing federal tax
credits as incentives to help states and school districts to build and renovate public schools. Half of the
bond authority will be allocated to the 100 school districts with the largest number oflow-income children,
and the other half will be allocated to the states.

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 quality teaching force through effective teacher recruitment and preparation. The President's
budget will contain a series of new initiatives and funding increases to help recruit well prepared
individuals to teach where they are needed the most, in high poverty urban and rural communities. In
particular, the President's FY 2000 budget will increase funding for his teacher recruitment effort enacted
in last year's Higher Education Act -     to $35 million from $7.5 million - to recruit 7,000 outstanding
new teachers into high need public schools by giving them scholarships in exchange for a commitment to
teach. The President will announce other initiatives to improve teacher quality at an event later in the
week.




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               21ST CENTURY SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

LABOR

Minimum Wage Increase
The President called on Congress to pass an increase in the minimum wage. Despite the strongest
economy in a generation, there are still millions of workers trying to raise a family and struggling to make
ends meet. The President believes that parents who works hard and play by the rules should not have to
raise their children in poverty. That is why, in 1993, he expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
and, in 1996, fought for and won a minimum wage increase. The President's proposal would increase the
minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 over two years -- through a 50-cent increase on September 1, 1999
and a 50-cent increase on September I, 2000 -- helping to restore the real value of the minimum wage to
what it was when President Reagan took office in 1981. This increase will help ensure that -- as costs
continue to increase -- parents who work hard and play by the rules can bring up their children out of
poverty. For someone who works full-time, this minimum wage increase will mean an additional $2,000
per year. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 12 million hourly paid workers
would benefit directly from this pay raise.

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. Additional details of this initiative will
be announced at a later date. The President also will continue to support the 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.


CHILD CARE

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. The President's proposal will: (1) increase 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) provide $3 billion over five years to promote early learning; and (3)
provide $173 million to improve child care quality. Additional funds for subsidies are necessary because
millions of families who are eligible for assistance with their child care costs currently 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. Additional funding to improve early learning through challenge grants to communities
for children ages zero to five responds to research showing that children's experiences in the earliest years
are critical to their development and ability to reach school ready to learn. Finally, increased investment
in improving child care is needed to support quality enhancement efforts such as performing inspections of
child care facilities, providing resource and referral services for parents, assisting providers with training
and scholarships, and creating networks for family day care providers.


                                                              6
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Expanding After-School Opportunities
The President is committed to triple funding for the 21 st 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.

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. The President's plan also includes a new tax credit to businesses that provide child
care services for their employees.                      .

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 year old
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.

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 of FMLA-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. 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 laws in Alaska, Michigan, New Jersey and other states, this legislation would protect workers
from unfair assumptions about their commitment to tileir job that can affect hiring, advancement, and other
employment decisions. This law would not prohibit employers from making hiring and promotion

                                                               7
                                Hex-Dump Conversion

decisions on the basis of job performance, but would ensure that workers are not unfairly discriminated
against simply because they are parents.

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 elderly and disabled Americans with long-term care needs and the millions of family members
who care for them. This initiative includes over five years a $5.5 billion investment in a $1,000 tax credit
to compensate for the cost of long-term care services; a new $625 million National Family Caregiver
Program; a $10 million national campaign for FY 2000 to educate Medicare beneficiaries about long-term
care options; and $15 million to allow the Federal government to offer long-term care insurance to its
employees at group rates.

The Potential of New Biomedical Research
Advances in biomedical research have captured the imagination of all Americans, with scientists now
poised to make advances that could revolutionize the way we treat diseases. The President's new $320
million investment in Nlli will allow us to make progress in preventing the complications of diabetes,
combating diseases associated with aging, like Alzheimers and Parkinson's, and developing vaccines for
tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS.

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, access to a
meaningful independent and external appeals process for consumers to resolve differences with their health
plans, and the right to be compensated when a health plan's decision causes 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.

Protecting Privacy of Medical Records
The President is challenging the Congress to pass strong bipartisan legislation to protect the privacy of
medical records. The President also pledged that if Congress does not pass this legislation this summer, he
will take action to implement protections for electronic medical records under the authority given to him by
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Encouraging Small Businesses to Purchase Health Insurance
Many small businesses cannot 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 that 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

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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.

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 still
nearly 75 percent. People with disabilities can bring tremendous energy and talent to the American
workforce, yet institutional barriers 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. It
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 that make it possible for individuals with disabilities to
work.

Improving Healt~ Care Access for Uninsured Workers
This new initiative invests $1 billion over 5 years in local communities to integrate providers that
traditionally provide services to the uninsured, such as public hospitals and clinics, into networks that
provide a comprehensive range of services to uninsured people. Providers will receive funds to develop
the fmancial, information, and telecommunication systems necessary to monitor and manage patient needs,
as well as funds to expand the range of services they deliver.

Providing Critical Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Services
Approximately 44 million adults and 14 million children suffer from a mental disorder each year. The
Clinton/Gore Administration's new FY 2000 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 assist people with mental illnesses, by 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 with 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 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 to reduce youth smoking and

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hold the tobacco industry accountable: 1) 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 hold the tobacco industry
accountable for reducing youth smoking; and 4) protect farmers and farming communities. The
President's budget will use all the funds resulting from this plan to help reimburse the federal government
for its annual tobacco-related health costs ..

Largest Increase in Family Planning Grants in 15 Years
The President's FY 2000 budget proposal will call for a substantial increase in Title X Family Planning
grants, which helps provide women with vital services, including contraception, pregnancy testing, STD
screening and treatment. Further details ofthis increase will be announced later this week.




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                                   21ST CENTURY ECONOMY


Re-employment Initiative
In 1995, President Clinton proposed a G.!. Bill for America's Workers to reform our employment and
training system for the 21 st-century economy by empowering individuals, streamlining services, enhancing
accountability, and increasing flexibility. For over three years, President Clinton repeatedly pressed
Congress to pass job-training reform based on his original proposal. Last year, the Congress finally
passed and the President signed comprehensive job training reform. This year, the President proposes a
long-term commitment to ensuring that Americans who are displaced from their jobs can get the training
and re-employment services they want and need to get new jobs.

Helping Adults Who Lack Basic Skills
President Clinton will soon announce a major effort to help the more than 44 million adults who perfoTIn at
the lowest level of literacy to obtain the skills they need to succeed in today's economy and to help
immigrants more fully integrate into our civic and social life. This effort includes the 10% tax credit for
employers who provide workplace education programs for their employees and a new award to recognize
"High Skills" communities for their outstanding achievement in promoting adult education as announced
by the Vice President on January 12. Later this month, the President will announce the other parts of this
initiative.

Welfare Rolls Decline as More Recipients go to Work
The President announced that welfare is at its lowest level in 30 years and the welfare rolls have fallen by
nearly half since he took office. The percent of welfare recipients working has tripled since 1992, and all
states met the first work overall participation rates required under the welfare refoTIn 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 hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients.

Additional Welfare-to-Work Assistance
The President announced that he will propose $1 billion for his Welfare-to-Work program to ensure that
those remaining on the welfare rolls who face the greatest challenges can succeed in the workforce and to
increase the employment of fathers of children on welfare 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. The President will announce further details of
this proposal next week.

New Markets Investments Initiative
One of the great still unmet challenges for the start of the 21 st century is building economically vibrant
communities in those places that our prosperity has not yet reached -- inner cities and distressed rural areas.
 These new markets here at home have great potential. We must build a bridge between Wall Street and
our great untapped markets. The President's new markets initiative will spur $15 billion in new capital
investment in businesses in these underserved areas through a package of tax credits and guarantees.

Specifically:

     New Markets Tax Credit: A billion dollars of tax credits over five years worth up to 25% of the
     amount of equity invested in a variety of vehicles for providing equity and credit to businesses in

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     underserved areas.

    America's Private Investment Companies (APICs): Modeled after the Overseas Private Investment
    Corporation's (OPIC) successful investment fund program, this program would create, each year, five
    new private investment partnerships of up to $300 million. For each new APIC, HUD and the SBA
    would provide up to $200 million in loan guarantees to match $100 million in private investment,
    creating a fund of $300 million for investment in mid-sized firms expanding or relocating into
    underserved areas.

     New Market Venture Capital Firms (NMVCs): SBA will match equity investment and technical
     assistance funds to fmance 10-20 new investment partnerships selected to provide both patient
     growth capital and expert guidance to entrepreneurs who need both in order to transform their small
     businesses and great ideas into thriving companies.

     SBICs targeted to new markets: Over 40 years, the SBIC program has helped more than 85,000
     small companies grow, some from start-ups to household names like AOL; but the program has not
     done enough to help spur growth in underserved areas. SBA will provide more flexibility and new
     fmancing terms, along with aggressive outreach, to promote investment in low- and moderate-income
     areas by SBICs.

     New Market Lending Companies (NMLCs): SBA will approve approximately 10 new non-bank
     lenders who have a strategy to target their lending to underserved areas.

     Other: Other elements include seed money to expand BusinessLlNC partnerships to encourage large
     businesses to work with small businesses in new markets and reforms to the Specialized Small
     Business Investment Company (SSBIC) tax credit to make it easier to use.

Empowerment Zones
Last week, Vice President Gore named 20 economically distressed communities as new Empowerment
Zones (EZs). Tonight, the President is reaffirming his Administration's commitment to securing fun
funding of flexible grant funding for the new 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, fmancial services, and other development services in distressed
communities. The President is proposing to expand funding for the CDFI program to $125 million -- a
$30 million increase from FY 1999.

Crop Insurance Program
In the midst of the strongest economy we have enjoyed in decades, many farmers are suffering and others
are at risk through no fault of their own. . Natural disasters, coupled with declining demand abroad
(exports have accounted for roughly a third of our farm products) brought historic losses last year. The
President fought for and got an additional $6 billion in emergency aid for farmers in 1998. But this is not
an unexpected or one-time-only problem. When the President signed the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, he
called for additional work to be done to create an adequate safety net for farmers. In his State of the
Union, he pledged to work with Members of both parties to achieve the needed reforms --both in the crop

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insurance program and in farm income assistance --this year.

Information Technology Research
President Clinton and Vice President Gore will propose at least $366 million, an increase of approximately
30 percent, for the government's investment in information technology research. The Vice President will
announce the specifics of this initiative later this week.

Y2K
The year 2000 problem results from a computer programming practice that for over 30 years designated a
year by its last two digits, such as "99" for" 1999." When the program has to deal with the year 2000, or
"00," malfunctions may occur in software applications or operating processes because the program stops,
reads the year as "1900," or otherwise produces erroneous information. The President and Vice President
have been leading the attack on this problem by establishing a goal for all Federal programs to be year
2000 compliant by March 31, 1999 and by establishing the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.
 The December quarterly report from the Office of Management and Budget indicated that 61 % of the
Federal Government's mission critical systems, such as those for issuing Social Security checks, were
already year 2000 compliant and 90% of the work to repair such systems had been completed with testing
of the fixes underway. The Council's mandate is to coordinate the work of Federal agencies as they
correct their own systems and to reach out to governments at all levels as well as internationally and to the
private sector to help facilitate their efforts to meet the challenge of crossing into the next century without
noticeable difficulty.

Financial Architecture
As the world's strongest economy and largest exporter, we have a major interest in addressing the global
financial crisis and in designing a global fmancial architecture for the 21 st century. Starting last year, the
President laid out a strategy working with key emerging and industrial economies to address the current
crisis and restore recovery, by providing the IMF expanded resources and new tools, strengthening social
safety nets to protect the most vulnerable, developing systemic approaches to rebuilding fmancial and
banking sectors, and establishing "precautionary" means for assisting countries with strong policies ward
off contagion. Longer term, we must prevent the disruptive cycle of boom and bust by increasing
openness and accountability, strengthening national financial systems and international surVeillance,
providing more orderly mechanisms for crisis response, and ensuring the participation of the private sector
in crisis prevention and mitigation. This work will culminate in the meeting of G-7 leaders in Cologne
Germany in June.

A Firm Commitment to Free and Fair Trade
The global fmancial crisis has touched the lives of many Americans. The surge in low-priced steel
imports into the United States has adversely impacted our steel companies, workers and communities.
This Administration is taking forceful steps to vigorously enforce our trade laws, to engage major
exporting and importing nations to trade fairly and to bear their fair share of the import burden, to help
crisis-stricken countries achieve recovery, and to provide American steel communities, workers and
companies with the resources they need to adjust to the forces of globalization. Japan accounts for almost
half of the surge in steel imports into the United States, and has increased exports of hot rolled sheet steel
by 400 percent from 1997 to 1998. We have informed Japan it must trade fairly, and we expect its
exports to fall to appropriate pre-crisis levels. We are preparcd to take appropriate WTO-consistent
actions under our trade laws to ensure that happens including, if necessary, self-initiated actions under
section 201 and our anti-dumping laws. The President has made clear that open, rules-based trade is
essential for both global economic recovery and continued U.S. prosperity.

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Traditional Trade Negotiating Authority
The President called for a new consensus granting him "fast track" trade authority to expand America's
opportunities in the global economy while ensuring that expanded trade benefits all citizens, promoting
prosperity, respecting worker rights, and protecting the environment. With a global round of trade
negotiations just around the comer and with the global fmancial crisis threatening America's hard won
economic gains, 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. This
authority has been given to every president since 1974 in order to pursue America's national interest in the
global economy. Without trade authority, America's role as the largest exporter in the world could be put in
jeopardy and America's ability to continue creating higher-paying jobs for more Americans could be
undermined.

Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement
The President will work with Congress toward swift passage of legislation expanding Caribbean Basin
Initiative (CBI) trade ties with Caribbean and Central American countries. This trade legislation will
create opportunities for American companies and workers even as it provides enhanced market access and
economic stimulus for countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch. The Administration is strongly
committed to the negotiations to conclude the Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005, and expects to
achieve commercially-meaningful outcomes by the end of the year, which will expand u.s. export
opportunities in Latin America.

African Growth and Opportunity Act                              .
In the State of the Union, President Clinton called upon Congress to pass the African Growth and
Opportunity Act, an important and groundbreaking piece of legislation which recognizes African
countries' efforts to institute sound economic policies and reform. The philosophy of this bill is simple:
America stands ready to help those African countries that undertake difficult reforms to build a better
future. Effective aid, combined with strong reforms and increased trade and investment, will help bring
Africa into the global economy and create new markets for U.S. exports. American businesses, farmers,
and workers all stand to benefit from expanding our trade with the largest underdeveloped market in the
world.

New WTO Round of Global Trade Negotiations
The President is calling for the launch of an ambitious new WTO Round when world trade ministers meet
in the United States this November to shape the world trading system in the 21st century. The President is
calling for a new type of Round for the new century, which could yield concrete early results in key areas,
ensure that labor and environmental standards are fully protected so that trade opening does not lead to a
race to the bottom and result in a more open and accountable WTO system. The United States must playa.
leadership role: as the world's largest exporter, we have the most at stake. A successful accelerated
Round of negotiations will create important new opportunities for America's world class farmers and
ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers to increase sales in foreign markets. We will see new
opportunities to sell our goods and services (such as express delivery, environmental and energy services,
electronic commerce and professional services) where the preponderance of global trade is not subject to
WTO rules, and further removal of tariffs because many of our trading partners in Asia, Latin America,
and elsewhere retain far higher tariff rates than the United States. We will also seek to further open
government procurement practices, ensure fair global competition, and protect intellectual property rights
(IPR) in areas where the United States leads the world (software, film/video, music, pharmaceuticals).
The U.S. Trade Representative will chair the 1999 meeting ofWTO trade ministers in the United States.

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International Labor Rights
The global economy holds the promise of a higher standard of living for more people in more countries,
but we must ensure that spirited competition among nations never becomes a race to the bottom on labor
standards. President Clinton's FY 2000 budget will provide $40 million for the first time ever to help
developing countries implement core labor standards and build social safety net programs such as
unemployment insurance and pensions. Specifically, the United States will provide: $25 million to
establish a new multilateral program at the International Labor Organization (ILO) to provide technical
assistance to core labor standards efforts; $9.5 million to the Department of Labor to help our trading
partners strengthen their implementation mechanisms; and $5 million to the Department of State to
encourage cooperative efforts to eliminate international sweatshops.

Child Labor
Last year the President fought for and obtained a ten-fold increase in the U.S. contribution to the
International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor -- a $30 million dollar contribution making the
U.S. the world's leader in the fight to reduce the most intolerable forms of child labor. This year, he
commits the U.S. to press for a new international convention to ban the most intolerable forms of child
labor -- hazardous work, forced or indentured labor, and work by the very young. In addition, the
President's budget will maintain the same dramatic level of !PEC funding while adding a new $10 million
program -- "School Works" -- through U.S. AID to improve access to education to make it easier to get
kids out of hazardous workplaces. In addition, the proposal 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
(almost doubling the enforcement budget from $3 million to $5 billion) and an increase of $4 million
(above last year's $3 million) for domestic enforcement of labor laws in areas vulnerable to child labor --
the garment industry and agriculture.

U. S. Manufacturing Exports
Manufacturing exports have been a key engine of America's sustained economic expansion. However,
the global fmancial crisis has put that progress at risk. To help American manufacturers safeguard their
hard-won gains in foreign markets and expand into new growth areas, the Administration is launching a
$108 million initiative to spur nearly $2 billion in additional U.S. exports, which will sustain or create
16,000 high-wage American manufacturing jobs. First, the initiative boosts funding for the Export-Import
Bank by 10 percent ($81 million) to keep U.S. products -- from aircraft parts to capital equipment to
environmental technology -- flowing to emerging markets where commercial banks have withdrawn.
Second, the Trade Development Agency will receive an additional $4 million for feasibility studies to
enable U.S. companies to participate in major export-generating infrastructure projects overseas. Third,
the initiative provides $14 million for the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration
(ITA) to increase resources for export advocacy and service delivery to small manufacturers. Finally, the
initiative provides $9 million for ITA and Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology to
help developing countries establish a legal and regulatory infrastructure to make it easier for U.S. firms to
export.




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                         A STRONG AMERICA IN A NEW WORLD

Bringing Hope to Northern Ireland
President Clinton's intensive diplomatic efforts helped achieve the landmark Good Friday Accord last
spring, bringing new governing structures and a new era of cooperation to Northern Ireland. By an
overwhelming margin, the people of Northern Ireland and Ireland have chosen a peaceful future after a
generation of bloodshed. President Clinton reaffIrmed his support for full implementation of the
agreement, so Northern Ireland can pursue a prosperous, democratic course, free of violence and terror.
The U.S. will also continue to support the International Fund for Ireland, which promotes reconciliation
through economic regeneration projects targeting disadvantaged Irish border counties and Northern
Ireland.

Securing Peace in the Balkans
The U.S. continues to help its European allies in consolidating the peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Through 1999, our priorities will be to accelerate Bosnia's transition to a market economy, increase the
momentum on refugee returns, improve the rule of law, reinforce central institutions and press ahead with
media and education reform. The NATO-led Stabilization Force, which continues to playa vital role in
implementing Dayton, will continue to draw down. This will allow a further reduction in the U.S. troop
contribution, which is already one-third the size of the U.S. contribution to the previous Implementation
Force. The U.S. is also leading efforts to end the repression and a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis.

Promoting Peace in the Middle East
President Clinton believes that the best long-term strategy for Israeli security includes a secure peace with
the Palestinians, recognition of their legitimate rights, and a comprehensive, secure peace in the Middle
East. The President' efforts at Wye River helped put the peace process back on track after eighteen
months of stalemate. At a time when the U.S. is calling on Israel and the Palestinians to meet the
commitments they undertook at Wye, the U.S. must meet its responsibilities. The President's
supplemental request would bolster Israel's security, strengthen the Palestinian economy and lend a hand to
a trusted friend of peace, Jordan.

Defending Against New Threats to America's Security
In an era of rapid technological change, Americans are faced with new challenges to our national security
from biological and chemical attacks, and attacks on our computer networks. President Clinton has taken
the lead in addressing these threats by developing new strategies to combat terrorism, prepare for weapons
of mass destruction attacks, and protect our critical infrastructure. To prepare for the threat of biological
and chemical weapons, President Clinton has called for an increase in funding for vaccine research and
public health surveillance in his FY 2000 budget. He has also established a National Domestic
Preparedness OffIce, which will provide a integrated federal program to train and equip those who would
first respond to a biological or chemical weapons attacks, and develop emergency plans for 120
metropolitan areas nationwide. To protect our computer networks from cyber terrorism, he has called for
an initiative to train and hire information technology experts to safeguard government computer networks,
and an initiative to integrate systems designed to monitor computer intrusion. The President has also
launched new public-private information sharing centers to foster better preparation for cyberattacks and a
computer security initiative aimed at safeguarding networks from covert installation of destructive
computer code.

Cooperative Threat Reduction Initiative
President Clinton announced an enhanced effort to work with Russia and other former Soviet countries to

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reduce the risk that materials, technologies, and expertise for weapons of mass destruction and ballistic
missiles will fall into the hands of rogue nations or terrorists -- and to help former Soviet countries
implement existing arms control agreements. The President's five year budget plan calls for a 70%
expansion of threat reduction programs. Our initiative emphasizes engaging weapons scientists and
institutes in civilian research, promoting nuclear security by dismantling and destroying warheads and
dangerous materials, tightening export controls, and accelerating Russian efforts to withdraw troops
stationed outside Russia. None of these funds will be available to entities that engage in dangerous
missile or nuclear assistance to Iran.    The Administration will continue to help Russia to develop an
effective export control system that keeps dangerous technologies away from Iran and others. And we
will continue to apply penalties against Russian entities that violate international nonproliferation
standards.

We will also continue our efforts to restrain North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, halt a nuclear
and missile race between India and Pakistan, and press China to playa more constructive role in efforts to
contain the spread of mass destruction weapons and missiles. And we will move forward with
international negotiations on the President's proposal to strengthen our ability to determine whether
nations are complying with the Biological Weapons Convention._

Containing and Opposing Saddam Hussein
President Clinton stressed that we will continue to contain Iraq as long as it poses a threat to its neighbors
and continues to conceal its weapons of mass destruction programs.               Saddam Hussein's actions
demonstrate, that he does not intend to comply with UN security council resolutions, even in the face of
international pressure. We therefore are pursuing a two-track policy: advancing initiatives aimed at
increasing availability of food and medicine for the Iraqi people while actively supporting efforts by Iraqi
opposition groups to replace Saddam's regime.

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
The President's call for the Senate to act without delay to give its advice and consent to ratification of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) will help prevent a new arms race and make it more difficult for
non-nuclear states to develop these devices of destruction. The 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. If the United States fails to ratify before
September, we will undercut our own efforts to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime and curb
further nuclear arms development, particularly in South Asia.

Strengthening America's Military
President Clinton proposed a six-year, sustained increase in defense spending to ensure that America's
armed forces are fully prepared to meet the challenges of the next century and remain the world's
best-trained, best-equipped fighting force - reversing a trend begun a decade ago. The President's budget
for next year will provide $12 billion more than we had planned last year for FY 2000 to meet readiness
and modernization needs. These funds will strengthen recruitment and retention programs; enhance
training, unit operations and flight hour programs, and provide additional spare parts. Funds will also be
devoted to modernizing weapons programs, by replacing aging equipment with more technologically
advanced systems, taking advantage of cutting edge computer technology, and developing defense systems
against both theater and strategic ballistic missiles. Finally, the President's defense spending proposal will

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improve pay and benefits for America's men and women in uniform, ensuring that they enjoy the quality
of life they deserve.

Strengthening Alliances and Promoting Freedom
Promoting freedom by strengthening our alliances and building partnerships in Europe, Asia, and Latin
America is central to President Clinton's foreign policy agenda. President Clinton will convene a NATO
Summit in Washington this April to commemorate its first fifty years and to chart a course for the next
century. Unprecedented in size and scope, this golden anniversary summit marks a milestone in President
Clinton's efforts to strengthen the alliance and build a more integrated, democratic and peaceful Europe.
It will reaffirm NATO's commitment to building its relationships with Russia and Ukraine and to the
continuing evolution of the Partnership for Peace as a pillar of transatlantic security. Forty-four leaders
from both sides of the Atlantic will come to Washington to welcome its newest members --Poland,
Hungary, and the Czech Republic -- and to forge a new consensus about the need for joint action to face
new challenges to our shared security, including regional conflicts and the growing threat posed by the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. NATO will also develop a new Strategic Concept, the
blueprint guiding the Alliance's defense planning and policies, and take steps towards ensuring that
NATO's door remains open to prospective new members.

Payment of United Nations Arrears
President Clinton highlighted the need for congressional action to meet U.S. fmancial obligations to the
United Nations. From critical peacekeeping operations to life sustaining relief and development efforts in
Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and around the globe, the United Nations is an essential institution for the
promotion of U.S. objectives across a broad spectrum of issues. Our interests abroad -- from maintaining
political stability, to averting human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, to promoting international
standards in areas such as aviation safety -- demand that we meet our international obligations and increase
our leverage in international organizations.

Hurricane Mitch Response
President Clinton reaffirmed our commitment to assist in the reconstruction of those Central American
countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch. Over the past three months, more than 5,000 of our armed
forces have provided critical relief and rehabilitation assistance to the people of Honduras, Nicaragua,
Guatemala and El Salvador. This has included the initial response -- in which U.S. troops rescued many
hundreds of Central Americans and delivered food, medical equipment and other essential supplies -- as
well as more recent reconstruction efforts that have included bridge building and road repair. In addition,
the U.S. Agency for International Development and' the U.S. Department of Agriculture have provided
food, medical aid, reconstruction material and other support. The U.S. contribution to the relief effort has
totaled $300 million thus far, and President Clinton intends to increase substantially our aid to longer term
reconstruction in the weeks and months to come.

U.S. - Africa Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity
The United States has important and growing strategic interests in Africa. Africa supplies over 13% of
our oil imports and represents the largest untapped market in the world.          Unfortunately, conflict still
undermines Africa's vast potential and our own strategic interests. That is why we aim to build a stable
and prosperous Africa -- a strong partner for security and peace, and an ally against drug trafficking,
international crime, terrorism, the spread of disease and environmen.tal degradation. President Clinton's
historic trip to the continent last year highlighted the new opportunities for partnership between our nation
and the nations of Africa.



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                                21ST CENTURY COMMUNITIES

CRIMEfDRUGS

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, and crime lab
improvements; 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
Numerous studies confirm 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 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 the Brady Waiting Period Permanent
The Brady Law, which requires background checks of all prospective 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.

Preventing Violent Juveniles from Buying Guns
Violent juveniles should be treated as adults for their adult crimes, and stopped from getting weapons to
hurt again. The President will propose legislation to ban violent juveniles from buying guns for life. The
President's proposal would extend the Brady Law to violent juveniles, closing the loophole under current
law which permits youths convicted in juvenile court for certain violent and drug offenses to buy handguns
on their 21 st birthday.

Child Safety Locks for Handguns
Child safety locking devices can reduce the unauthorized use of handguns, by a child at play or a teen
looking to commit a crime. And many youths have to look no further than their own home to get access to
a gun: a third of all privately-owned handguns are left both loaded and unlocked. To address this
problem, the President's proposal would require federally-licensed firearms dealers to sell a child safety
lock with every handgun -- to help prevent youths from hurting themselves or each other.


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Helping Make All Schools Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free
President Clinton is proposing a significant overhaul of the nearly $600 million Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Program to provide more effective prevention programs for the reduction of
drugs and violence in schools, more accountability for results, and better targeting to those schools that
need the most assistance.. Under the President's proposal, schools would be required to adopt rigorous,
comprehensive school safety plans that include: tough, but fair, discipline policies; safe passage to and
from schools; effective drug and violence policies and programs; annual school safety and drug use report
cards; links to after school programs; efforts to involve parents; and crisis management plans.


ENVIRONMENT

Climate Change
On the heels ofthe 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 international emissions trading, as well as to encourage the meaningful
participation of developing countries in efforts to address global warming.

Livability Agenda: Easing Traffic Congestion and 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 $2.4 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 $10 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 vaiues, 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 fmancing 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 almost $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

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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 proposed for 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 FY 200l. 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 21 st century, preserving irreplaceable pieces of our natural legacy within easy reach of every
citizen.

Clean Air Partnership Fund
To help protect public health and ease the threat of global warming, President Clinton is proposing $200
million in FY 2000 funding for 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 fmancing for public and private sector projects that accelerate pollution
reductions. This new fmancing will support demonstration projects that go beyond legal requirements and
enable communities to achieve clean air goals sooner. Targeting the fmancing 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 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.


SERVICE

AmeriCorps
President Clinton called on Congress to increase support for AmeriCorps. When he came into office, the
President 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.


POLITICAL AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

Enact Bipartisan 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 fmance reform

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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
between challengers and incumbents; and 5) it cannot favor one party over the other.

Reinventing Government
We have already cut the size of the Federal civilian work force by more than 333,000 people, creating the
smallest work force in 35 years and, as a share of total civilian employment, the smallest since 1933. But
can be done. 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 to reduce the further
the size of government. To improve customer satisfaction, 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. To produce better 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. Finally, to assist Federal agencies to provide better customer
service and ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent to produce results, President Clinton is proposing
significant civil service improvement initiatives. these improvements, which will result in the most
dramatic change in the Federal workplace in 20 years, will increase the link between pay and good
performance, and provide agencies with flexibilities to hire, reward, and retain the high-quality, diverse
workforce they need to meet their mission and respond to increasing customer and workplace deman~s.


ONE AMERICA

English Literacy/Civics Initiative
President Clinton is proposing an initiative to help states and communities provide expanded access to
high-quality English-language instruction, linked to practical instruction in civics and life skills including
how to navigate the workplace and public education system. This initiative is designed both to help meet
the extraordinary demand for English and civics instruction in immigrant communities and to demonstrate
our shared commitment to fully integrating new Americans into our social and civic life. The initiative is
part of a broader effort to reduce adult literacy. Further details of this initiative will be provided at a later
date.

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;
(5) a $7 million overall increase from last year -- from $40 million to $47 million -- for HUD's efforts to
reduce housing discrimination, including funding for the second year of a three-year audit-based

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enforcement initiative; and (6) $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.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("ENDA")
This bill would outlaw discrimination in hiring, firing, and promotions based on sexual orientation. It is
designed to protect the rights of all Americans to participate in the job market without fear of unfair
discrimination. The Act provides an exemption for small businesses, the Armed Forces, and religious
organizations, including schools and other educational institutions that are substantially controlled or
supported by religious organizations. The bill specifically prohibits preferential treatment on the basis of
sexual orientation, including quotas. President Clinton and Vice President Gore are the fust President and
Vice President ever to back civil rights legislation for gays and lesbians. President Clinton originally
announced his support for the legislation in October 1995.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act
This measure expands the principal federal hate crimes statute. The current statute prohibits any use of
force that is based on a person's race, color, religion, or national origin and that is intended to interfere with
certain specified federally protected activities. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would strengthen and
expand the ability of the Justice Department to prosecute hate crimes by removing needless jurisdictional
requirements for existing crimes. Further, it would give Federal prosecutors the power to prosecute hate
crimes committed because of the victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. President Clinton
originally announced his support for the bill on November 10, 1997 at the fust-ever White House
Conference on Hate Crimes.




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                              PERORATION: THE MILLENNIUM

Millennium Communities Program
The President invites community leaders and all Americans to be part of our national Millennium program,
using the millennium as an opportunity to engage in meaningful activities that mark this milestone in
human history. Millennium Communities is a new program of the White House Millennium Council in
partnership with major intergovernmental associations which represent local elected officials and Native
American leaders. The special designation of "Millennium Community" will be awarded to those
communities which propose plans to carry out the national theme, "Honor the Past -- Imagine the Future."
Elected officials will submit plans that preserve their history and prepare citizens for the 21 st century, and
their respective associations will recommend the official designation. Millennium Communities will
receive the use of the national millennium logo and motto, register their projects on a new web site and be
honored in other ways.

Save America's Treasures Program
Save America's Treasures is a national millennium program, designed as a pUblic-private partnership, to
preserve our deteriorating historic sites, art, artifacts, documents and monuments, so that they may inform
future generations of the American story. President Clinton requested, and Congress appropriated $30
million to Save America's Treasures in FY99. The private sector partner, the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, created the Millennium Committee to Save America's Treasures, with Hillary Rodham
Clinton as the Honorary Chair. That group has sparked attention and raised contributions which already
surpass the federal commitment. Mrs. Clinton has visited over twenty historic sites and collections since
last July, bringing recognition and support to the places and objects that embody our heritage and culture.
Some of the preservation projects underway are the conservation of the Star-Spangled Banner at the
Smithsonian Institution, the re-encasement of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at the
National Archives, and the new exhibition space at the Thomas Edison National Historic Site. The
Administration's forthcoming budget will propose additional funding for Save America's Treasures.




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