[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[3. Investing in Education and Training]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
V. PREPARING FOR THE 21st CENTURY
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3. INVESTING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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We must redouble our efforts to make sure every American child, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income, has
access to the finest public elementary and secondary schools in the world. This is the fair and right thing to
do, because we live in an information age in which education is everything. If we believe in the value that
every American should share in the bounty of prosperity, then every American deserves a first-class education.
President Clinton
September 1998
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A century ago, as the economy was shifting from agriculture to
manufacturing, the way that Americans lived and worked changed
dramatically. Today, the economy has shifted once again--this time from
manufacturing to information and technology. These changes have been, in
many ways, the engine of our economic growth. Yet Americans who have not
had access to education and training to prepare them for this new
economy risk being left behind.
For the past six years, the President has worked hard to ensure that
all Americans have the tools they need for the 21st Century. Education
and training have been the corner-stone of the Administration's efforts.
After World War II, American workers could enjoy basic economic security
with just a high school diploma. But in the late 20th Century, the
workplace demands workers with the analytical skills to reason and adapt
quickly, especially to innovations in technology. The need for highly
educated workers will continue to increase, making the quality of our
educational system in the next century the key to the success of our
people, our economy, and our Nation.
The Clinton Administration has launched new initiatives and built on
existing programs to: provide children in the early grades with the
attention and instruction they need to acquire fundamental skills;
enable all students to reach their full potential; make available
resources to pay for postsecondary education to all who need them;
ensure that those who need another chance at education and training, or
who need to improve or learn new skills during their working lives, get
those opportunities; and ensure that States and communities receiving
Federal funds can use them more flexibly with fewer regulations and less
paperwork.
In order to strengthen elementary and secondary school education, the
Administration proposed, and worked with Congress to enact, new laws in
1994 that have built the foundation for a fundamental restructuring of
K-12 education programs. These efforts include: Goals 2000, which helps
States and school districts set and meet challenging educational
standards; the Improving America's Schools Act, which focuses on student
achievement, helps students reach challenging standards, and expands
public school choice through charter schools initiatives; and the
School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which financed the first efforts
toward State-wide systems to link high school students more effectively
to high-skill careers and postsecondary education. In 1998, the
President proposed an inititive on class size which took an important
first step toward adding 100,000 new teachers to the classroom by 2005.
Expanding access to, and preparing students for, postsecondary
education is a central part of the President's education agenda. The
Administration has: increased the maximum Pell Grant award to $3,125 in
1999, up 36 percent from $2,300 when President Clinton took office;
established the Direct Student Loan program, which reduced costs and
increased efficiency in the $41 billion loan
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programs and which offered income-contingent repayment options to
students; made higher education more affordable through the proposal and
enactment of the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits; and
helped students in high poverty schools prepare for and attend college
through the GEAR-UP program.
To improve and expand job training and employment services, the
Administration has more than doubled the resources devoted to assisting
dislocated workers. In addition, the Administration proposed, and worked
with the Congress to pass, the Workforce Investment Act, to streamline
the job training system, empower people with individual training
accounts, enhance accountability, and increase customer information and
choice. The Administration also proposed and obtained funding for the
Youth Opportunity Grants program to provide intensive, comprehensive
education and training services to raise significantly the employment
rate of young people in high poverty areas.
The budget builds upon this record. It includes: $1.4 billion for the
second annual installment of support to States and school districts to
hire new teachers in the early grades; $22 billion in school
construction and modernization bonds, financed through tax credits to
investors; $600 million for after-school and summer programs, increasing
funding three-fold; a $320 million increase for Title I--Education for
the Disadvantaged to support increased accountability for educational
achievement; and other increases for serving dislocated workers and
enhancing one-stop career centers. The budget includes resources to
enhance public school choice, advance the Hispanic Education Agenda, and
improve adult education.
A central part of the President's efforts to increase accountability
is the focus on ending social promotion, the practice of promoting
students from grade to grade without regard to whether they have
mastered the skills and met academic standards required to succeed at
the next grade level. The budget provides $600 million for 21st Century
Community Learning Centers, tripling funding for after-school and summer
school programs, to end social promotion the right way--by giving
students the tools they need to succeed.
Elementary and Secondary Education
The budget increases support for key Education Department programs to
help all children in school, especially those in high-poverty areas,
achieve at higher levels (see Table 3-1). Early in 1999, the
Administration will transmit to Congress its reform proposal for the
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. That
proposal will focus on improving accountability to raise the educational
achievement of all students, especially those in low-income communities.
The budget includes the proposals below that will prepare the way for
these broader reforms. (For information on Head Start, see Chapter 4,
``Supporting Working Families.'')
Performance Accountability: All children deserve to attend high
quality public schools. When schools fail to help children reach
rigorous standards of academic achievement, they must be held
accountable for their performance. The budget includes $200 million in
Title I to hold States and school districts more accountable for raising
student achievement. States will use funds to fix their lowest
performing schools through a variety of approaches including bringing in
new management and teachers. Funds will also be used to ensure that
students receive extra educational help while the school is being
reformed. The increase described below for new funds for after-school
and summer school activities is an integral part of this initiative.
21st Century Community Learning Centers/After-School and Summer School
Programs: The budget proposes to triple this program to $600 million, as
part of a comprehensive approach to fix failing schools and help end
social promotion the way successful schools do it--without harming the
children. School districts will have a competitive advantage for these
new funds if they combine before- and after-school, as well as summer
school programs, with other resources that support State and school
commitments to high standards, more qualified teachers, smaller classes
and accept accountability for increasing
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Table 3-1. THE BUDGET INCREASES RESOURCES FOR SELECTED EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS BY $5 BILLION, OR 10.9 PERCENT OVER 1999, AND BY A TOTAL
INCREASE OVER 1993 OF 101 PERCENT
(Dollar amounts in millions)
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Dollar Percent
1993 1999 2000 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate Proposed 1999 to 1993 to
2000 2000
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TAX EXPENDITURES:
Hope Scholarships Credit.............................................................................. ....... 4,015 4,855 +840 NA
Lifetime Learning Credit.............................................................................. ....... 2,510 2,655 +145 NA
Student Loan Interest Deduction....................................................................... ....... 245 283 +38 NA
School Construction................................................................................... ....... ........ 146 +146 NA
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (Targeted Jobs Tax Credit in 1993)........................................ 160 358 446 +88 +179%
Welfare/Jobs Tax Credit............................................................................... ....... 38 54 +16 NA
-----------------------------------------------
Total, tax expenditures............................................................................. 160 7,140 8,426 +1,260 +5,116%
MANDATORY OUTLAYS:
Welfare-to-Work Grants................................................................................ ....... 872 1,597 +725 NA
Early Learning Fund (see Chapter 4)................................................................... ....... ........ 372 +372 NA
DISCRETIONARY BUDGET AUTHORITY:
Pre-School: Head Start (see Chapter 4)............................................................... 2,776 4,660 5,267 +607 +90%
Elementary and Secondary Education:
Class Size Reduction................................................................................ ....... 1,200 1,400 +200 NA
America Reads/Reading Excellence.................................................................... ....... 260 286 +26 NA
Goals 2000.......................................................................................... ....... 491 491 ....... NA
Education Technology (Education Department grant programs).......................................... 23 698 801 +103 +3,383%
Title I - Education for the Disadvantaged/Accountability............................................ 6,709 8,371 8,744 +373 +30%
Special Education................................................................................... 2,966 5,334 5,450 +116 +84%
Bilingual and Immigrant Education................................................................... 213 380 415 +35 +95%
Safe and Drug Free Schools Communities.............................................................. 582 566 591 +25 +2%
Charter Schools..................................................................................... ....... 100 130 +30 NA
Troops to Teachers.................................................................................. ....... ........ 18 +18 NA
Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration........................................................... ....... 145 175 +30 NA
21st Century Community Learning Centers............................................................. ....... 200 600 +400 NA
Postsecondary Education:
Pell Grants......................................................................................... 6,372 7,704 7,463 -241 17%
Pell Grant maximum award (non-add, in dollars).................................................... 2,300 3,125 3,250 +125 +41%
College Work-Study.................................................................................. 617 870 934 +64 +51%
Other Campus-based Aid.............................................................................. 764 749 761 +12 -*
College Completion Challenge Grant.................................................................. ....... ........ 35 +35 NA
Teacher Quality Enhancement......................................................................... ....... 75 115 +40 NA
GEAR-UP............................................................................................. ....... 120 240 +120 NA
Preparing for College Campaign...................................................................... ....... 7 15 +8 NA
Work Force Development:
Learning Anytime, Anywhere Partnerships (Education and Labor Departments)........................... ....... 20 30 +10 NA
Right Track Partnerships............................................................................ ....... ........ 100 +100 NA
Job Corps........................................................................................... 966 1,309 1,347 +38 +39%
Youth Opportunity Grants/Rewarding Achievement in Youth............................................. ....... 250 250 ....... NA
Vocational Education................................................................................ 1,170 1,154 1,163 +9 -1%
Adult Education..................................................................................... 305 385 575 +190 +89%
Veterans Employment Services and Training........................................................... 167 167 169 +2 +1%
Dislocated Worker Training.......................................................................... 517 1,406 1,596 +190 +209%
Employment Service and One-Stop Centers............................................................. 895 968 1,048 +80 +17%
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Total, budget authority........................................................................... 25,042 37,589 40,209 +2,620 +61%
TOTAL RESOURCES FOR SELECTED PROGRAMS (tax expenditures; receipts; mandatory outlays; and budget
authority) 25,202 45,601 50,604 +4,977 +101%
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STUDENT LOANS (face value of loans issued):
Direct loans.......................................................................................... ....... 11,363 12,078 +715 NA
Guaranteed Loans...................................................................................... 16,089 20,921 22,243 +1,322 +38%
Consolidated Loans.................................................................................... 1,540 7,525 6,840 -685 +344%
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Total, student loans................................................................................ 17,629 39,809 41,161 +1,352 +133%
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
Discretionary Program Level........................................................................... 23,977 33,467 34,711 +1,244 +45%
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR:
Discretionary Budget Authority........................................................................ 6,019 6,986 7,285 +299 +21%
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NA = Not applicable.
* Less than 0.5 percent.
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student achievement. The program will reach 7,500 schools in 2000.
New, Qualified Teachers and Smaller Class Sizes: Soaring school
enrollments have overwhelmed school capacity, causing severe teacher
shortages and classroom overcrowding, which hinder the ability of
students to learn. The budget provides $1.4 billion as the second
installment of the President's plan to help schools recruit, hire, and
train 100,000 new teachers by 2005 and reduce class size in the early
grades. Research shows that reducing class size to 15-18 students in the
early grades improves student achievement, particularly among low-income
and minority students in inner cities. The budget also proposes a new
initiative to recruit and train 1,000 new Indian teachers to serve in
school districts with high concentrations of Indian children.
Recruitment, Preparation, and Training of High-Quality Teachers:
Children in all communities should have highly-qualified and effective
teachers.
Teacher quality enhancement: The budget provides $115 million
to help improve the quality of teacher preparation programs at
colleges and universities and address shortages of well-
prepared teachers, particularly in urban and rural schools.
The budget will fund approximately 16 partnerships of
exemplary teaching colleges and universities, urban and rural
schools, and subsidiary colleges and universities with
teaching programs. It also will fund up to 7,000 scholarships
to help recruit teachers to teach in high priority areas.
Eisenhower professional development: The budget proposes $335
million to help States provide high-quality, professional
development for teachers and administrators.
Troops-to-Teachers: The budget proposes $18 million to
recruit and train retiring military personnel and other to
mid-career professionals to serve as new teachers in public
schools.
Bilingual education: The budget includes an increase of $25
million, for a total of $75 million, for the bilingual
education professional development program to give 6,000
teachers the skills they need to help their students learn
English and meet challenging academic standards.
New Classrooms: A third of all schools across the country, with 14
million students, have one or more buildings that need extensive repair,
according to the General Accounting Office. School districts also face
the cost of upgrading schools to accommodate computers and modern
technology, and of constructing new classrooms and schools to meet
expected record enrollment levels over the next decade. To help States
and school districts meet this need, the budget proposes $22 billion in
school construction and modernization bonds, and $2.4 billion in
additonal Qualified Zone Academy bonds financed through tax credits to
investors, currently valued at $3.7 billion over five years and $8.9
billion over 10 years. The President also proposes $10 million for
Schools as Centers of Community, a new initiative to promote broad
community involvement in the planning and design of new schools.
Indian reservations have some of the most critical needs for school
construction assistance. Within the new school construction initiative,
$400 million in bonding authority will be provided for Bureau of Indian
Affairs schools. For those schools serving the poorest Tribes who would
have difficulty issuing such bonds, the budget proposes $30 million for
the Interior Department to pay the principal of about $75 million in
bonds.
Education Technology: In February 1996, the President challenged the
public and private sectors to work together to ensure that all children
are technologically literate by the dawn of the 21st Century, and that
schools take full advantage of the benefits of technology to raise
student achievement. Achieving this goal will require progress in four
areas: connecting every classroom to the Internet; expanding access to
multimedia computers; increasing the availability of high-quality
educational software and content; and ensuring that teachers can teach
effectively using technology.
The most significant program that advances these goals is the
Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. In 1997, the President committed to
providing States $2 billion by 2002 through this Fund to support the
education technology goals. Through 1999, $1.05 billion has been
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provided. The budget includes $450 million for the Fund.
Other technology programs include:
Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, which provides $110
million for competitive grants to develop innovative education
technology applications;
Technology Training for Teachers, which provides $75 million
to help ensure that new teachers know how to use technology
effectively;
Computing Technology Centers, which provides $65 million, an
increase of $55 million over 1999, to establish computer
centers in low-income communities for those who cannot afford
home computers;
Middle School Teacher Training Initiative, which provides $30
million to train technology leaders in all middle schools; and
the
Software Development Initiative, which provides $5 million for
a competition open to students in partnership with others to
develop high quality software and websites.
E-Rate: The education rate, or E-rate, was created under the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 to provide discounts for schools and
libraries to buy high-speed Internet access, internal wiring, and
telecommunications services. Over the first 18 months of the program,
$1.9 billion has been provided to start connecting up to 47,000 schools
and libraries and more than 30 million children to the Internet. In
2000, $1.3 billion will be made available.
America Reads/Reading Excellence: Two years ago, the President
launched the America Reads Challenge, a multi-faceted effort to help
States and communities ensure that all children can read well and
independently by the end of third grade. This budget builds upon last
year's commitment of $260 million, by proposing an investment of $286
million to continue this program in 2000. The funds help train reading
tutors and coordinate after-school, weekend, and summer reading programs
linked to in-school instruction; help train teachers to teach reading;
and help parents help children prepare to learn to read. In addition,
more than 1,000 colleges have pledged to use federally-financed work-
study positions for tutoring programs.
Public School Choice: Choice in education has become one of the most
hotly debated education issues in the last decade. The Administration
firmly supports expanding school choice through its Charter Schools,
Magnet Schools, and Satellite Work-Site Schools initiatives. These
efforts strengthen the public education system by giving it the support
it needs to fulfill its mission of providing equal educational
opportunities for all while still providing children their choice of
schools that best meet their needs. The budget supports the expansion of
public school choice in three ways:
Charter Schools: Through public charter schools, parents,
teachers, and communities create innovative schools to raise
student achievement, while States free these schools from
unnecessary rules and regulations. The budget proposes $130
million for charter schools, a $30 million increase over 1999,
to fund start-up costs for approximately 2,200 schools,
continuing progress toward the President's goal of 3,000
charter schools by 2002.
Magnet Schools: Magnet schools offer a special curriculum to
encourage students of different racial backgrounds to attend
previously racially isolated schools. The budget proposes a
$10 million increase, to a total of $114 million, to fund
inter-district magnet programs where, for example, an urban
school district with high concentrations of minority and poor
students can partner with neighboring suburban districts to
form a specialized (e.g., math or art) curriculum which
students of both districts attend.
Satellite Work-Site Schools: These schools generally operate
as public-private partnerships between large employers and
school districts, with employers providing facilities on site
for the schools. Experience shows that these schools can: (1)
be more racially diverse than other schools because worksites
are more diverse than residential neighborhoods; (2) save the
school districts the cost of new facilities; (3) increase
parental involvement in the schools; and (4) provide safe and
enriching after-school programs. The budget proposes $10 mil
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lion for a demonstration project to support the planning and
implementation of approximately 100 work-site elementary
schools.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities: Since 1993, this program
has provided $3.7 billion to help 97 percent of all school districts
implement anti-drug and anti-violence programs. The budget proposes $591
million, including $90 million in competitive grants for projects that
use proven program designs in high-need areas and $50 million for the
Administration-proposed, newly established School Drug Prevention
Coordinators program to ensure that at least half of all middle schools
have a director of drug and violence prevention programs to link school-
based programs to community-based programs. This program also provides
$12 million to fund SERV, the Administration's initiative to support
efforts in the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human
Services to respond to serious incidents of school violence.
Special Education: The budget proposes $5.4 billion to support State
and local education for children with disabilities, an increase of $116
million over 1999. The increase is targeted toward improving educational
results for children with disabilities through early intervention. The
new resources support: a $50 million initiative to help schools
implement research-based practices for how best to serve children with
disabilities in the primary grades; an increase of $28 million to
preschool grants, for a total of $402 million; and an increase of $20
million for grants to infants and families, for a total of $390 million.
Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration: This program funds
competitive grants to schools to implement research-based school
improvement models. The budget includes $150 million for such grants in
high-poverty schools, an increase of $30 million over 1999, and $25
million for such grants in other schools. Nearly 3,500 schools will
receive grants.
Advanced Placement and Other Courses: To ensure greater preparation
for college, the budget proposes $20 million primarily to help schools
provide advanced placement and other higher level courses to high-
poverty schools that do not currently offer them.
Education Coordinator for Empowerment Zones: The 10 Education Regional
Offices will each have a designated Empowerment Zones (EZ) coordinator
to augment the existing Department of Education Empowerment Zones and
Enterprise Community Task Force. The Coordinators will help EZs by
fostering communication with educational institutions, facilitating
access to Education technical assistance and program evaluation
resources, providing technical assistance to EZ schools applying for
competitive grants, and coordinating education reform efforts among EZs.
Investing in the Special Needs of Hispanic Americans
Raising the educational achievement of Hispanic Americans continues to
require special attention. Their high school dropout rate, for example,
is unacceptably high: in 1996, 29 percent of Hispanics aged 16 to 24
were high school dropouts, compared to seven percent of non-Hispanic
whites and 13 percent of non-Hispanic blacks. Hispanic now receive 32
percent of services under Title I, more than any other minority group.
For the second year in a row, the budget targets new funding to programs
that are part of the Administration's Hispanic Education Agenda. The
funding increases include:
$100 million for a new Right Track Partnership initiative to
help keep young people from dropping out of school, with
special emphasis on the needs of limited-English proficient
youth. (See discussion under ``Work Force Development,'' later
in this chapter.)
$35 million, for a total of $415 million, for Bilingual and
Immigrant Education. During the ESEA reauthorization, the
Administration will look at ways to strengthen the Bilingual
Education program to help limited-English proficient students
become proficient in English as rapidly as possible, and
prepare them to meet high standards in academic subjects.
$14 million, for a total of $42 million, for assistance for
colleges and universities that serve large numbers of Hispanic
students;
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$9 million, for a total of $22 million, for the High School
Equivalency Program for migrants and the College Assistance
Migrant Program;
$190 million, for a total of $575 million, for Adult
Education, including $70 million to expand services and
improve English as a second language and civics programs;
$25 million, for a total of $380 million, for Title I-Migrant
Education, which provides additional educational assistance to
migrant children;
$10 million for a Labor Department program to provide
training and education assistance to migrant youth, including
literacy assistance, worker safety training, English language
assistance, and dropout prevention activities;
$30 million, for a total of $630 million, for the TRIO
programs that work with disadvantaged high school and college
students to encourage them to complete high school and attend,
and graduate from, college;
$30 million, for a total of $150 million, for Comprehensive
School Reform demonstrations in high-poverty schools,
providing grants for research-proven reform efforts to schools
that have low achievement and high dropout rates; and
A portion of the Head Start expansion dollars will be used to
boost participation by underepresented groups, particularly in
areas with recent influxes of immigrants and limited-English
proficient children, including seasonal farmworkers.
Postsecondary Education and Training
High school is the first stepping stone to a good job. However, those
with more years of schooling consistently earn more over their working
careers than those with only a high school degree. Meeting the cost of
higher education can be difficult for many families, but Federal support
through Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, Hope Scholarship and
Lifetime Learning tax credits, other tax benefits, and other programs
now make college affordable for every American. The budget proposes even
more to help young people go to and stay in college.
College Preparation and Attendance: The budget proposes to double
funding for GEAR-UP, the early intervention program based on the
President's High Hopes proposal, from $120 million to $240 million in
2000. GEAR-UP provides funds for States and local partnerships to help
students in high-poverty schools prepare for and attend college. The
budget also provides $15 million for a Nation-wide information campaign
on the importance of higher education, the steps necessary to enroll in
college, and the availability of Federal resources.
Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits: The President
proposed and obtained major tax relief for the rising costs of higher
education. With Hope Scholarships, students in the first two years of
college or other eligible postsecondary training can get a tax credit of
up to $1,500 for tuition and fees each year. In 1999, an estimated 5.5
million students will receive $4.5 billion in Hope Scholarship tax
credits. Under the Lifetime Learning tax credit, students beyond the
first two years of college, or those taking classes part-time to improve
or upgrade their job skills, will receive a 20-percent tax credit for
the first $5,000 of tuition and fees each year through 2002, and a 20-
percent credit for the first $10,000 thereafter. In 1999, an estimated
7.2 million students will receive approximately $2.5 billion in Lifetime
Learning tax credits.
Pell Grants: The President proposes to raise the maximum Pell Grant
award by $125, to $3,250--the highest ever--to reach nearly four million
low-income undergraduates.
Work-Study: In 1996, the President committed to expanding the Work-
Study program to one million students by the year 2000 to give more
students the opportunity to work their way through college. In this
budget, the Administration reaches the goal of one million students by
providing $934 million, a $64 million increase over the 1999 level.
College Completion Challenge Grants: The budget proposes $35 million
for an initiative to help disadvantaged undergraduates succeed in school
and complete their studies. Institutions of higher education that show
they
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have already invested their own resources in persistence programs for
at-risk students, but still experience a gap between the dropout rates
of disadvantaged students and other students, may apply for competitive
grants. Grants may be used to strengthen support services, provide
larger grant awards, and/or offer an intensive summer program, for
students at risk of dropping out of college.
Student Loans: An estimated 6.2 million people will borrow $41 billion
through the Federal student loan programs in 2000. In the Higher
Education Amendments of 1998, the President's proposal to significantly
lower interest rates for borrowers on student loans was adopted, easing
the burden of repayment for new borrowers and borrowers who consolidate.
The budget also proposes net savings of $4.5 billion over five years
from excess profits of banks, guaranty agencies and secondary markets,
and through improved debt collection. (See also chapter 22, ``Education,
Training, Employment, and Social Services,'' for a discussion of student
aid management issues.)
In 1993, the Adminsitration proposed and obtained authority to offer
students the opportunity to consolidate multiple student loans into one
direct loan with lower payments, much less paperwork, and more efficient
servicing. The Administration has continued to improve the quality of
servicing for these loans and, in 1998, obtained a still lower interest
rate for students who consolidate. The budget proposes to extend this
authority for lower rates through 2000.
Learning Anytime, Anywhere Partnerships: The budget includes $30
million ($20 million in the Education Department and $10 million in the
Labor Department) for the second year of this program to enhance and
promote learning opportunities outside the usual classroom settings, via
computers and other technology, for all adult learners.
D.C. Resident Tuition Support: The budget proposes up to $17 million
for D.C. Resident Tuition Support, a new initiative that would enable
eligible District of Columbia residents to attend public institutions of
higher education in Maryland and Virginia at in-State tuition. Under the
initiative, the Federal Government would provide funds to reimburse
these institutions for the difference between in-State and out-of-State
tuition for students who are District residents.
Adult Literacy: The 1990 Census found that over 44 million adults did
not have a high school degree or General Educational Development (GED)
credential, without which it is increasingly difficult to obtain a good
job. Illiteracy is a serious bar to employment and to obtaining
citizenship for many legal immigrants. Throughout his tenure, the
President has sought to improve the education and skills of the Nation's
low-literate population. The budget proposes an increase for Adult
Education of $190 million, or nearly 50 percent, for a total of $575
million. The increase will help recent immigrants learn English and give
them instruction in civics to help prepare for citizenship, as well as
support innovative uses of technology in adult education, and
preparation for passing the GED examination. In addition, the budget
includes a new tax credit for employers who provide certain workplace
literacy programs to eligible adults.
Work Force Development
Many who lose jobs and need new jobs or new skills to get those jobs,
adults who are seeking jobs for the first time, or adults who want new
skills to advance or change their careers, need a broad array of
financial and program supports--especially as workers strive to succeed
in the fast-changing new economy.
Reemployment Services for All Who Need Them: In 2000, the President
proposes a major step toward the goals of: providing all dislocated
workers who want and need assistance the resources to train for or find
new jobs; expanding and raising the quality of the employment services
now available to all job seekers and enhancing them for individuals
receiving Unemployment Insurance; and ensuring that One-Stop Career
Centers are available to all, either in person or electronically. The
budget includes increases totaling $368 million as a first step towards
achieving this goal.
Dislocated Worker Training: The budget proposes $1.6 billion,
an increase of $190 million--over three times the amount
available when the President took office--to provide
readjustment services, job search assistance, training, and
related
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services to help dislocated workers find new jobs as quickly
as possible. Among the workers assisted by the program, and
the proposed increase, are those displaced by trade and
related causes.
Reemployment Services: The budget proposes an increase of $53
million, for a total of $849 million, for grants to the State
Employment Service system. The increase is targeted to
expanding services to help workers receiving Unemployment
Insurance benefits obtain the help they need in finding new
jobs. In addition, $10 million is proposed for the new
America's Agricultural Labor Network, an information system
that helps growers to find workers and workers to find
employment opportunities that meet their needs.
One-Stop Career Centers: The budget includes $65 million for
new methods of providing employment and related information
through America's Labor Market Information System and the One-
Stop system recently expanded in the Workforce Investment Act.
Activities include a ``talking'' America's Job Bank for the
blind, mobile service centers for sparsely populated areas,
and a 1-800 service for easier access to information to
upgrade skills. Also included is $50 million to help the
disabled return to work (see Work Incentive Assistance Grants
discussion later in this chapter).
Welfare-To-Work: To help reach the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families program's employment goal for the severely disadvantaged
welfare recipients, the Administration sought, and Congress provided to
the Labor Department, a total of $3 billion in 1998 and 1999. The budget
provides $1 billion for 2000 to continue the effort and provide non-
custodial parents of children on welfare the work and employment
services they need to help support their children.
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA): The budget proposes consolidating,
reforming, and extending the TAA and NAFTA-Transitional Adjustment
Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) programs for workers who lose jobs due to trade
policies. It would expand eligibility for TAA benefits to cover workers
who lose jobs when plants or production shifts abroad; raise the
statutory cap on training expenses; and add a contingency provision to
ensure that the Federal Government has sufficient funds to finance any
unexpected increase in benefit costs for eligible workers. The budget
proposes to increase funding for the TAA programs by $151 million in
2000 to a total of $465 million.
Unemployment Insurance (UI): These programs are the major source of
temporary income support for laid-off workers. Experienced workers who
lose their jobs generally are eligible for up to 26 weeks of
unemployment benefits at an average benefit of $210 a week. An estimated
8.3 million people will draw benefits in 2000.
A recent dialogue involving the States, employers, workers, and the
Federal Government identified a number of possible system improvements.
The budget includes several initial system changes as evidence of the
Administration's commitment to program reforms and its desire to work
with stakeholders and the Congress to develop a broader legislative
proposal for the future. That proposal should be developed within the
overarching goal of budget neutrality and should be based on the
following principles: 1) expanding coverage and eligibility for
benefits, 2) streamlining filing and reducing tax burden where possible,
3) emphasizing reemployment, 4) combating fraud and abuse, and 5)
improving administration.
Youth Programs: The budget provides specialized support to help
disadvantaged youth prepare for college and careers.
Youth Opportunity Grants: Youth Opportunity Grants address
the special problems of out-of-school youth, especially in
inner-cities and other areas where jobless rates can top 50
percent. The budget includes $250 million for the second year
of competitive grants. Included in the funding is $20 million
for Rewarding Achievement in Youth--a new initiative to
provide comprehensive employment training, counseling and
education services to over 9,000 academically high-achieving,
low-income youth. Encouraging school completion, this program
will provide students who excel academically extended summer
employment opportunities and
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the opportunity to earn an end of the summer bonus.
Job Corps: The Job Corps provides intensive, vocational
skills training, integrated with academic and social
education, and support services to severely disadvantaged
young people in a structured residential setting. The budget
proposes $1.3 billion, an increase of $38 million over the
1999 level.
Youth Activity Formula Grants: Recognizing that the
traditional division of youth formula funding between the
summer and year-round programs constrained the ability to
construct comprehensive youth training programs, the WIA
consolidated the funding streams of these two programs into a
single formula grant. Funded at $1 billion, this program will
continue to provide essential job opportunities to roughly
578,000 urban and rural disadvantaged youth through year-round
training and summer jobs.
Right-Track Partnerships: The budget includes $100 million
for a new competitive grant in the Department of Labor
designed to prevent youth from dropping out of school, and to
encourage those who have already dropped out to complete their
high school education. Strong partnerships will be formed
between the private sector, the schools, and community-based
organizations to tailor services to local needs. Special
emphasis will be placed on the needs of limited-English
proficient youth.
School-to-Work: Funded and administered jointly by the
Education and Labor Departments, this initiative has made over
$1.7 billion available since 1995 to build comprehensive
systems that link Federal, State, and local activities to help
young people move from high school to careers or postsecondary
training and education. The budget proposes $110 million to
complete the scheduled final year of Federal funding.
Encouraging Work for People with Disabilities
To advance the ability of people with disabilities to have full
opportunity to participate in, contribute to, and reap the benefits of a
growing economy, this budget provides a new package of work incentives,
and builds upon current programs for people with disabilities.
The Work Incentives Improvement Act: The budget includes a
comprehensive package of work incentives modeled after legislation
developed by Senators Jeffords and Kennedy in 1998. The package forms
the centerpiece of the President's initiative to provide economic
opportunities to people with disabilities.
Health Insurance Protections for Working Disabled: Many
people with disabilities want to work, but working can end
their access to critical services provided by Medicaid or
Medicare. Others incur prohibitive costs associated with work,
such as extra personal assistance and assistive technology.
The budget improves access to health care for people with
disabilities who work by allowing States to expand Medicaid
coverage to additional categories of workers with
disabilities. States offering new coverage options would
receive grants to develop systems that support people with
disabilities who return to work, and to build the capacity of
States and communities to provide home- and community-based
services. The budget also allows Social Security Disability
Insurance (DI) recipients who return to work to retain
Medicare Part A coverage indefinitely, as long as they remain
disabled.
Ticket-to-Work: The budget includes a new program to
encourage new partnerships to help DI and Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) disabled beneficiaries re-enter the
workforce. Currently, most beneficiaries who could benefit
from employment-related services are referred to State
Vocational Rehabilitation agencies. Under the proposal,
beneficiaries can choose from a variety of participating
public or private employment-related service providers, which
would then be reimbursed with a share of the DI and SSI
benefits saved once these individuals leave the rolls.
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DI Benefit Offset Demonstration: The budget includes a
demonstration project that reduces an individual's DI benefits
by $1 for each $2 earned above a specified level. Under
current law, a DI beneficiary in the extended period of
eligibility who earns more than the ``substantial gainful
activity'' level, currently $500 a month, does not receive a
cash benefit.
Work Incentive Assistance Grants: Competitive grants
(totaling $50 million a year) would be awarded to partnerships
of organizations in every State, including organizations of
people with disabilities, to help One-Stop Career Centers and
Workforce Investment Boards provide a range of high-quality
services to people with disabilities working or returning to
work. Such services include benefits planning and assistance
and providing information on services and work incentives
(e.g., availability of transportation services in the local
area) available in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Tax Credit for Workers with Disabilities: The budget proposes a $1,000
tax credit for workers with disabilities or their spouses. Workers with
disabilities usually have extra costs associated with working--special
transportation or personal assistance to get to and from work, for
example. This credit helps compensate for these costs.
In addition, the largest non-benefit proposals for improving the
education and employment of people with disabilities are $5.4 billion
for Special Education, described earlier in this chapter, and $2.3
billion for Vocational Rehabilitation. Other enhancements include a
combined increase of $4.5 million for the President's Committee on the
Employment of People with Disabilities, the Task Force on Employment of
Adults with Disabilities, the National Council on Disability, the
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University. The
set aside for children with disabilities in Head Start increases from
$590 million in 1999 to $667 million. The Department of Justice's
Disability Rights Section funding increases by 26 percent, for a total
of $14 million.
International and Domestic Child Labor and International Labor Standards
Activities
Continuing the Administration's commitment to improving the working
conditions of children at home and abroad, the budget proposes $16
million in additional funding to address this issue. In addition, the
budget proposes $40 million for a new initiative targeted at raising
international labor standards to enhance economic stability abroad.
International Child Labor Activities: The budget continues to provide
$30 million for the Labor Department to enable the International Labor
Organization's International Programme to Eliminate Child Labor to
expand its work into more countries and industries. The five-year
initiative, which began in 1999, provides a $150 million investment
which will help reduce the incidence of exploitative and abusive child
labor. The budget proposes $10 million for a new School Works program
for the U.S. Agency for International Development to assist developing
countries with high levels of abusive child labor to enroll and retain
these children in basic education, as part of comprehensive strategies
to eliminate child labor. The budget also proposes $2 million over the
1999 level to enable the Customs Service to enforce the law banning the
import of goods made with forced or bonded child labor.
International Labor Standards Activities: The budget proposes $25
million to help the International Labor Organization create a
multilateral technical assistance program to help developing countries
implement core labor standards and build their own social safety nets,
and $10 million for the Labor Department to provide technical assistance
on these same issues in support of important U.S. bilateral
relationships. In addition, the budget provides $5 million for the
Economic Support Fund to establish a grant program to promote innovative
approaches to eliminating overseas sweatshops.
Domestic Child Labor Activities: The budget continues $9 million for
the Labor Department, including $4 million to help eliminate domestic
violations of child labor laws, particularly in the agriculture sector,
and $5 million for demonstration programs to provide alternatives to
field work for migrant youth.
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In addition, the budget proposes $4 million for the Department of Labor
to increase its current enforcement and compliance assistance efforts in
the agriculture and garment industries which are focused on increasing
compliance with labor standards, including child labor.