[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[9. Building One America]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 
                        9.  BUILDING ONE AMERICA

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  ``We must continue to expand opportunity. Full participation in our strong and growing economy is the best
antidote to envy, despair and racism. We must press ahead to move millions more from poverty and welfare to
work; to bring the spark of enterprise to inner cities; to redouble our efforts to reach those rural communities
prosperity has passed by. And most of all, we simply must give our young people the finest education in the
world.''
 
                                      President Clinton
                                      August 1997
 

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  After six years of the Clinton Administration, the American economy 
continues to break records. Homeownership and job creation are at all 
time highs, while crime, poverty, and welfare rolls continue to fall. 
This new era of prosperity offers unprecedented opportunity, but the 
doors of opportunity are not open equally to all. ``The economy has 
never been stronger,'' the President has observed, ``but there are still 
striking disparities in jobs, in investments in neighborhoods, in 
education and criminal justice.''
  We must create One America, not only to address the errors of the 
past, but to assure our future. By the middle of the next century, there 
will be no majority race in this country. This, said the President 
recently, ``can either strengthen and unite us, or... weaken and divide 
us... Today children of every race walk through the same door, but then 
they often walk down different halls... they sit in different 
classrooms, they eat at separate tables. Far too many communities are 
all white, all black, all Latino, all Asian. Segregation is no longer 
the law, but too often separation is still the rule.''
  Because these challenges reach far beyond the Federal Government and 
require our engagement as individuals, in our families, churches and 
communities, the President began, in 1997, a national Initiative on 
Race. The elements of this Initiative were three-fold: action, study, 
and dialogue with communities and community leaders of all races and 
regions to raise, discuss, and better understand the tensions that 
divide us. A distinguished advisory board reported to the President 
throughout their year of service. Later this year, the President will 
issue his assessment to the American people. Many of the programs in 
this budget are already part of the response.
  To build One America, it is essential that we close the opportunity 
gap. We must do this by increasing our efforts to spur economic 
development and by expanding access to jobs with a future, to quality 
education, to decent health care, and to safe, affordable housing. We 
must guarantee that the criminal justice system works for all Americans. 
And we must ensure that civil rights are enforced with vigor, for as the 
President reminds us, ``we cannot forget one stubborn fact: There is 
still discrimination in America.'' Legally-enforced segregation, of 
course, is now a relic of another time. Yet, in housing, for example, 
researchers using pairs of applicants matched in all respects but race, 
find that half the blacks and Hispanics looking for a place to live face 
discrimination--they are kept from seeing, buying or renting homes that 
they can fully afford. Other situations are more subtle: the lack of 
opportunity for some inner-city students, for example, to go to a top-
notch high school, to benefit from after-school programs, or to be 
guided by mentors who help lead the way to college.
  To build One America, we must also act to ensure economic opportunity 
throughout our cities, across rural communities, and Tribal 
reservations. There are still too many areas, rural and urban, whose 
economies are isolated from the Nation's prosperity.

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In many cities, the economic base disintegrated years ago when the 
manufacturing industry began to fail and factories moved away, leaving 
behind unemployment, poverty, and social problems. In many rural areas, 
the trend toward concentrations of fewer, much larger farms has left 
small farmers unable to compete and in need of other ways to be able to 
support themselves and their families.
  The budget contains important new initiatives and expands current 
programs to encourage investment. It includes initiatives to provide 
communities with economic and tax incentives to encourage private 
investment through fundamental elements of its development agenda--the 
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities program--and the New 
Markets Initiative, and to encourage volunteerism and community service 
through the National Service program. In these efforts, the Federal 
Government works cooperatively in partnership with States, localities, 
businesses, non-profits, schools, families, and individuals.

Jobs and Economic Development

  The President has strongly supported efforts to strengthen and 
encourage economic growth in distressed communities. The centerpiece of 
this approach--Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities--has made 
significant progress in promoting economic development in rural and 
urban areas. Building on that progress, this budget proposes the New 
Markets Initiative--a program to stimulate billions in new private 
investment in America's untapped markets in urban and rural areas.

  The New Markets Investment Initiative: The budget provides tax credit 
and loan guarantee incentives to stimulate billions of new private 
capital investments in targeted areas; creates a network of private 
investment institutions to funnel credit, equity, and technical 
assistance into businesses in America's new markets; and provides the 
expertise to targeted small businesses that will allow them to use 
investment to grow.
  The New Markets Tax Credit: To help spur $6 billion in new 
          equity capital, this tax credit is worth up to 25 percent for 
          investments in a variety of vehicles serving these 
          communities, including community development banks, venture 
          funds and other new investment company programs created by 
          this initiative. A wide-range of businesses could be financed 
          by these investment funds, including small technology firms, 
          inner-city shopping centers, manufacturers with hundreds of 
          employees, and retail stores.
   America's Private Investment Companies (APICs): Just as 
          America's support for the Overseas Private Investment 
          Corporation helps promote growth in emerging markets abroad, 
          APICs will encourage private investment in this country's 
          untapped markets by providing loan guarantees--administered by 
          the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the 
          Small Business Administration (SBA)--for private investors who 
          target larger businesses that are expanding within or 
          relocating to inner-city and rural areas.
   Small Business Investment Companies New Markets Initiative: 
          Last summer, the Vice President challenged the SBA to find 
          ways to better meet the needs of minority firms and 
          underserved markets. The SBA is responding by offering more 
          flexibility and new financing terms--through a new type of 
          federally-guaranteed loan--to make it more attractive for 
          SBICs to invest in low- and moderate-income areas.
  Other key elements include: New Markets Venture Capital Firms, which 
will match equity of private investors with Government debt guarantees 
and deferred interest to provide capital and expert guidance to inner-
city and rural entrepreneurs to transform their small businesses into 
thriving companies; New Markets Lending Companies, which will allow non-
bank lenders with strategies to target their lending to underserved 
areas to originate loans through the SBA; BusinessLinc, an innovative 
public-private partnership, spearheaded by the Vice President and CEOs--
for which $3 million in

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                  Building One America for the 21st Century: The President's Initiative on Race
 
  In June 1997, the President created his Initiative on Race. Led by an Advisory Board and involving thousands
of citizens from all races and communities, the Initiative created our Nation's first public forum on race.
Americans spoke candidly about their impressions and experiences of race in America, and shared their hopes, and
fears, about the future. This effort made an important first step toward bringing down the barriers that
continue to divide us.
 
  For 15 months, the Advisory Board engaged issues such as civil rights enforcement, racial disparities in
education, economic opportunity, race and housing discrimination, negative racial stereotypes, crime and the
administration of justice, and immigration. The meetings highlighted America's common ground. Equally important,
they offered compelling evidence about the need to confront our past in order to change our future. The Board
suggested actions to address these issues, as part of what is needed to build a more equal country.
 
  The Initiative made clear that we still must struggle, both to reconcile and overcome the past and to become a
part of the multi-racial and multi-cultural America that is our future.
 
  Throughout the year, the Advisory Board made recommendations to the President and the Nation, which were acted
upon: to continue the dialogue that is needed; to continue public education about the facts of race in America
and the thousands of efforts in communities, schools, and churches Nation-wide to bridge racial divides and
create a larger community; to close the gap and ensure common opportunities in education, the workplace, our
homes and communities; to ensure common access to health care and to ensure the broad enforcement of laws
against discrimination. In the course of its work last year the Administration made progress in a range of
program areas, including those listed below. Many others are listed in this chapter and throughout the Budget.
 
 Americans with Disabilities Act: A $1 million increase in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights
 Division to enhance enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
 
 Educational Help for Low-Income Students: The Administration proposed, and Congress enacted, an early
 intervention program for low-income students. The budget would double funding for GEAR-UP, the early
 intervention program that provides funds to State and local partnerships to help students prepare for and
 attend college.
 
 Eliminating Health Disparities: $65 million in first-year funding was appropriated for an initiative
 that sets a national goal of eliminating longstanding disparities in the health status of racial and ethnic
 minority groups in the next decade. The budget includes $135 million to continue this initiative.
 
  As these efforts continue, many other programs included by the President in the budget and described in this
chapter will advance these goals. Furthermore, later this year the President will present to the American people
a comprehensive report of his own vision. It will describe the steps that we as a Nation can take to overcome
the burdens of the past and realize the potential of One America in the 21st Century.
 

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
seed money will encourage large businesses to work with small businesses 
to improve economic competitiveness in small firms in urban and rural 
distressed areas; and specialized small business investment companies, 
which will be able to provide increased equity capital through expanded 
tax incentives.

  Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI): The New Markets 
Initiative also provides increased funding for CDFIs, which have 
expertise in lending and investment in underserved areas, both rural and 
urban.
  In 1994, the President proposed, and the Congress established, the 
CDFI Fund. CDFIs include a broad range of institutions--community 
development banks, low-income credit unions, venture capital funds, and 
microenterprise loan funds--that provide a wide range of products and 
services, such as mortgage

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financing to first-time home buyers, commercial loans for small 
businesses, and other basic financial services. By creating and 
expanding a diverse set of CDFIs, the Fund helps develop new private 
markets, create healthy local economies, promote entrepreneurship, 
restore neighborhoods, generate tax revenues, and empower residents in 
distressed urban and rural communities.
  The Fund represents a new approach to community development that uses 
limited Federal resources to leverage significant private sector 
resources. Every CDFI that receives financial assistance from the Fund 
must provide at least a one-to-one match with funds from non-Federal 
sources. To date, the CDFI Fund has awarded over $120 million in 
financial and technical assistance to CDFIs. In addition the Fund has 
awarded nearly $60 million to traditional banks and thrifts for 
increasing their activities in economically distressed communities and 
investing in CDFIs.
  The budget proposes $125 million for the CDFI Fund, including $15 
million for a new microenterprise initiative that would provide 
technical assistance grants to microenterprise intermediaries to assist 
low-income and disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Microenterprises are very 
small businesses that typically have fewer than 10 employees and 
generally lack access to conventional loans, equity, or other banking 
services.
  Other programs that provide services to underserved markets include:
  Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Rural Development Programs: 
Because their needs are so different, no single approach will help both 
urban and rural communities. The Administration proposes to give States, 
localities, and Tribes more flexibility in how they use USDA's Rural 
Development grants and loans for businesses, water and wastewater 
facilities, and community facilities such as day care centers and health 
clinics. The 1996 Farm Bill authorized this approach through a new Rural 
Community Advancement Program (RCAP), combining 12 separate USDA 
programs into a Performance Partnership that can tailor assistance to 
the unique economic development needs of each rural community. The 
budget proposes $3.0 billion in loans and grants for RCAP, nine percent 
more than in 1999 and the full flexibility that the 1996 Farm Bill 
envisioned. It also includes the new Partnership Technical Assistance 
grants and grants for early-warning weather systems in areas prone to 
tornadoes.
  Economic Adjustment Grants: On November 13, 1998, the President signed 
the Economic Development Administration and Appalachian Regional 
Commission Reform Act of 1998, to further leverage private sector 
investment and create jobs in America's poorest communities. The budget 
continues support for the Appalachian Regional Commission and provides a 
$20 million increase for the Economic Development Administration's 
economic adjustment program, which helps distressed communities recover 
from sudden and/or severe economic downturns such as those caused by 
increased foreign imports, international trade agreements, industry 
downsizing, plant closings, environmental regulations, and natural 
disasters.
  Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC): The Administration continues 
support for ARC to help 406 economically distressed counties in the 13-
State Appalachian region. The ARC's Federal-State partnership is a 
proven economic development model of balanced fiscal decision-making 
that has helped improve the economic viability of this region over the 
past 35 years.

  Empowerment Zones (EZs) and Enterprise Communities (ECs): The EZ and 
EC initiative is the foundation of the Administration's empowerment 
agenda for communities with high unemployment and poverty rates. This 
initiative challenges these urban and rural communities to develop 
comprehensive strategic plans for revitalization, with input from 
residents and community partners. The program selects communities with 
the most innovative plans and significant local commitments.
  Investment in EZs and ECs is available in many forms. The Federal 
Government provides tax benefits for businesses and flexible block 
grants to communities for job training, day care and other purposes. EZs 
and ECs can apply for waivers from Federal regulations, enabling them to 
better address local needs. Special set-asides from USDA

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                                           Investment in Rural America
 
  Over the last year, the Administration reviewed the effectiveness of USDA's programs to address the needs of
rural America, focusing on achievements in rural development since 1993 and how rural financing needs are
changing.
 
  Financial Credit: The lack of credit in rural areas is no longer a pervasive problem, but the range of credit
institutions serving rural areas is likely to be different, often narrower, than those serving urban areas. In
1994, 27 percent of rural counties were served by two or fewer banks, while 40 percent of urban counties were
served by 10 or more. The size of rural communities and the number of total rural borrowers often limit how many
lenders can profitably compete to make rural loans. Not all rural market segments are equally well served. In
some rural areas, the range of available financial services is still too narrow to ensure borrowers have access
to sufficient credit at competitive terms.
 
  Housing: The 1990 Census data show that the cost of housing continues to be a serious problem for the rural
poor.
 
 Nearly 22 percent of the Nation's 20.4 million nonmetro households paid 30 percent or more of their
 income for shelter in 1991.
 
 Nonmetro areas have a greater incidence of moderate or severe housing quality problems than metro
 areas.
 
  Innovations developed since 1993 to address the needs of rural areas have been structured to: address
diversity of need (through the flexible funding structure of the Rural Community Advancement Program-RCAP),
coordinate Federal and other programs collectively to help communities including EZ and ECs and Champion
Communities, and make the most of constrained resources (e.g., leveraging). Building on the findings of the
Administration's review, the budget continues and improves upon these approaches through the proposed
Partnership Technical Assistance Grants, which will provide technical assistance to under-served communities to
create strategic plans, better use and coordinate USDA's rural development grant and loan programs, and achieve
sustained economic viability, job creation, and improved quality of life.
 
  Since 1994, USDA's Water 2000 initiative--an effort to bring safe drinking water to rural communities with
serious water problems--has funded almost $1.6 billion in loans and grants on approximately 1,400 high-priority
Water 2000 projects Nation-wide. With proposed 2000 RCAP funding (12 percent above 1999), USDA expects to fund
300 clean water systems out of the $1.5 billion targeted for water and wastewater programs. Additional RCAP
goals in 2000 include providing 100,000 new or saved jobs, compared to 82,000 in 1998, through the Business and
Industry loan programs, intermediary relending program, and community facilities programs. In 2000, USDA will
also reduce the number of rural residents living in substandard housing by providing $4.3 billion in single
family housing loans and loan guarantees providing 50,500 new or improved homes.
 

  rural development programs are available to rural EZs and ECs.--------
  Original EZs and ECs: Designated in 1994, these EZs and ECs 
          are already showing promise of success. The Rio Grand Valley 
          EZ, for instance, is using $40 million of EZ funds to expand 
          businesses and rehabilitate housing and educational 
          facilities. It has already used $11 million of EZ funds to 
          leverage $100 million in additional capital to create or save 
          1,500 jobs, train 900 persons, and serve 3,200 youth in 
          developmental programs.
  Additional EZs and ECs: The Administration has worked to 
          expand the reach of these initiatives to other distressed 
          communities. In 1997, Congress authorized 22 additional EZs 
          and made qualified businesses in these zones eligible for tax 
          incentives including: up-front deductions for qualifying 
          capital investments; new tax-exempt facility bonds; new 
          deductions for environmental remediation costs; and new tax 
          credits for holders of qualified zone education academy bonds. 
          In January 1999, the Administration announced that it had 
          designated 20 new Zones, selected

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          on a competitive basis, from the applications of more than 250 
          communities.
  Flexible grants will be used by these new Zones to carry out 
comprehensive revitalization strategies. In 1999, Congress provided 
first-year funding of $55 million for the new EZs, and authority and $5 
million in first-year funding for 20 new rural Enterprise Communities 
announced in January.
  The budget also proposes mandatory funding for 10 years for a total 
commitment of $1.6 billion: $100 million a year for urban EZs; $50 
million in mandatory funding over 10 years for rural EZs; and $5 million 
a year for rural ECs. It also provides $20 million in HUD funding for 
technical assistance and planning and implementation grants and $45 
million to support 15 new Strategic Planning Communities. It also 
includes a new USDA program to provide $5 million for partnership 
technical assistance grants to help rural communities develop 
comprehensive strategies for revitalization and to better coordinate 
Federal assistance. In addition, the budget proposes a $50 million 
Regional Empowerment Zone Initiative to assist urban EZs and ECs in 
linking their economic development strategies to their broader 
metropolitan regional economies to increase youth employment.
  Designated EZ and EC communities will receive priority consideration 
for funds from Federal economic development programs and for waivers of 
certain regulatory requirements from the Community Empowerment Board 
chaired by the Vice President.

  Livability Initiative: The budget proposes six new investments as part 
of the Livability initiative. The budget includes an unprecedented 
request for Community Transportation Choices, a $6.1 billion mass 
transit program, a $1.8 billion congestion relief and air quality 
improvement program, and $614 million to implement innovative community 
based transportation programs; $9.5 billion over five years for Better 
America Bonds, a new State and local bonding authority for green space 
preservation, water quality enhancement, and clean up of abandoned 
industrial sites; and a $50 million HUD Regional Connections Initiative 
to promote regional ``smart growth'' strategies and complement the 
Administration's other regional efforts; Regional Connections matching 
grants will help local partnerships design and pursue smarter growth 
strategies across jurisdictional lines. The budget also proposes $40 
million for a Community-Federal Information Partnership to provide 
communities with grants for easy to use information tools to help 
develop strategies for future growth; $130 million for Regional Crime 
Data Sharing to expand programs to help communities share information to 
improve public safety; and $10 million for Community-Centered Schools, a 
new grant program administered by the Education Department to encourage 
school districts to involve the community in planning and designing new 
schools. Also icnluded in the budget is the Lands Legacy initiative (see 
Chapter 6), which will complement the Livability agenda, emphasizing 
land conservaton; smart growth; and partnerships with State and local 
governments, land trusts, and other non-profit grouops to preserve open 
spaces in urban, suburban, rural, and coastal areas. As part of the 
broader Livability Initiative, the budget proposes $50 million for a new 
HUD program that will support local partnerships that are designing 
``smart growth'' strategies. Partnerships that cross jurisdictional 
lines will receive grants to address problems of sprawl and congestion 
in ways that address the needs of both cities and suburbs. The outcome 
will be development that reduces commute times, preserves open space, 
and provides a balanced distribution of economic opportunity and access 
to affordable housing regionwide.

Urban and Rural Development and Increasing Homeownership

  In 1994 the Administration launched an unprecedented partnership with 
58 key public and private organizations to form a National Homeownership 
Strategy to increase homeownership. Along with a strong economy and low 
interest rates, the Administration's policies have helped boost 
homeownership to 66.8 percent--a new all-time high; 7.4 million 
Americans have become homeowners under this Administration, including 
record numbers of minorities.

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  Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loan Limits: The Administration's 
successful 1999 proposal to increase the FHA mortgage limit will allow 
FHA to help more families purchase their first homes, especially in 
areas with high housing prices. Reforms of FHA's property disposition 
practices, starting this year, will reduce costs and stabilize 
neighborhoods.
  Play-by-the-Rules: Also in 1999, the Administration proposed, and 
Congress enacted, a $25 million Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation 
Play-by-the-Rules pilot program. This program will allow renters with 
solid payment track records to own their own homes. The budget proposes 
a second $15 million investment in this initiative.
  Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: The budget proposes to expand the Low-
Income Housing Tax Credit to spur the private sector to develop more 
affordable low-income rental housing. The proposal will cost $1.6 
billion over the next five years and help develop another 75,000 to 
90,000 units per year. It will restore the value of the tax credit, 
which has eroded over the last decade due to an increase in building 
costs, helping to reduce rents by an average of $450 a month for the 
average assisted renter who, earns $13,300 a year.
  Public Housing Program: In 1998, Congress passed comprehensive public 
housing reform legislation, the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility 
Act. The Act increases the availability of Federal housing assistance to 
very poor families with limited housing choices while at the same time 
promoting a greater mix of income and new administrative flexibility in 
public housing.
  The budget builds on these reforms and reduces poverty concentrations 
by providing $625 million in HOPE VI grants to local housing authorities 
to demolish an additional 20,000 dilapidated public housing units and 
replace them with portable subsidies or newly constructed mixed income 
housing. These funds provide sufficient resources to achieve the 
Administration's goal of demolishing 100,000 of the most severely 
distressed units. The Administration also proposes $580 million for 
100,000 portable housing vouchers, including 25,000 for families seeking 
to move from welfare to work, 18,000 to help homeless move to permanent 
housing with supportive services, and 15,000 to assist the extremely 
low-income elderly with housing. Local housing agencies that work in 
partnership with State and local welfare agencies will get the 
flexibility to design programs to serve welfare families for whom 
housing assistance is critical to getting and retaining jobs.

  Elderly Housing Program: The budget expands HUD's elderly housing 
program by providing mandatory funds for 15,000 new housing vouchers 
targeted at the elderly, in addition to $660 million in discretionary 
resources. Together this funding will address the changing needs of the 
elderly population and reconfigure an aging housing stock to better 
serve the frail elderly. Discretionary spending of $660 million will 
provide grants to non-profits for construction of 5,970 units and 
conversion of some projects to assisted living facilities, using a 
combination of capital grants and service coordinators to bring 
community services to residents. The budget permanently authorizes 
15,000 new housing vouchers linked to Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 
properties to make these units affordable to extremely low-income 
elderly.
  Regional Affordable Housing: The budget also proposes a new 
demonstration program, the Regional Affordable Housing Initiative that 
will award funds competitively to provide technical assistance and 
project development to five regions committed to creating and adhering 
to an affordable housing plan that integrates job development with 
housing production on a regional basis.

Closing the Opportunity Gap

  The budget includes numerous programs to narrow disparities and to 
increase economic opportunity in our Nation, so that we may achieve the 
goal of building One America. What follows are selected examples of such 
programs in areas including education, national service, health, and 
justice.

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Education

  Head Start: Among the President's highest priorities, Head Start will 
serve 877,000 low-income children in 2000, providing comprehensive child 
development services and helping parents get involved in their 
children's lives. Since 1993, the President has worked with the Congress 
to increase annual Head Start funding by 68 percent. This year's 
proposal will keep the program on track to meet the President's goal of 
serving one million children by 2002. The President proposes to focus 
resources this year to boost minority participation in Head Start, 
particularly in areas with recent influxes of limited English-proficient 
children.
  Title I--Education for the Disadvantaged: This program provides funds 
to raise the educational achievement of disadvantaged children. The 
Title I Account will receive $8.7 billion in 2000, a $373 million 
increase over 1999. This funding includes resources for a new 
Accountability Fund, which would support immediate and significant State 
and local interventions in the lowest performing schools to improve 
student achievement.
  The End of Social Promotion: The President is committed to ending 
social promotion and will work to give students the tools they need to 
meet challenging academic standards. The budget proposes an expansion to 
the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, enabling more than 7,500 
schools to open their doors before and after the school day and during 
the summer.
  Hispanic Education Agenda: Because the educational achievement of 
Hispanic-Americans continues to lag behind that of other groups, in 1999 
President Clinton proposed, and the Congress enacted, the first-ever 
Hispanic Education Agenda. The budget continues support for this plan by 
proposing increases for Bilingual Education, Adult Education, Migrant 
Education, Comprehensive School Reform, High School Equivilancy Program, 
and College Assistance Migrant Program, among others.
  GEAR-UP: GEAR-UP will provide increased funds for States and local 
partnerships to help low-income students prepare for and attend college.
  These and other programs designed to ensure educational opportunity 
for disadvantaged Americans are discussed in Chapter 3, ``Investing in 
Education and Training.''

National Service

  The President has consistently supported and encouraged community 
service and volunteerism through such programs as AmeriCorps and other 
programs supported through the Corporation for National and Community 
Service. Volunteerism and community service have been a strong and 
important tradition in American ever since its founding. In 1994, 
President Clinton signed the King Holiday and Service Act making the 
national holiday a day of service that would bring people together, 
promote racial cooperation and help to solve problems through citizen 
action.
  The Corporation for National Service: This program encourages 
Americans of all ages and backgrounds to help solve community problems 
and provides opportunities to engage in community-based service. The 
budget proposes $848 million for the Corporation, an 18.6 percent 
increase over 1999.
  AmeriCorps: Over 150,000 individuals will have participated in 
AmeriCorps in the first five years. The program allows young Americans 
of all backgrounds to serve in local communities through programs 
sponsored by local and national nonprofits. Participants serve full-or 
part-time, generally for at least a year. In return, they earn a minimum 
living allowance, set at about the poverty level of a single individual 
and, when they complete their service, they earn an education award to 
help pay for postsecondary education or repay student loans.
  The National Senior Service Corps: This program provides opportunities 
for citizens age 55 and older to use their time and talents to meet 
community needs. The budget funds the Retired and Senior Volunteer 
Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion 
Program, enabling more than half a million older Americans to serve.
Health Care and Services
  Providing Quality Health Care to Native Americans: The budget proposes 
an increase

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of $170 million for IHS, which will provide for many services, including 
exapanded breast cancer screenings, dental services, immunizations, pre-
natal care and more. In addition, the Administration will coordinate 
efforts to ensure that HHS health grants provide assistance to Native 
Americans, review reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare, and 
increase vigilance to ensure that Federal funds are used properly.
  Help to reduce racial disparities in health status: Despite 
improvements in the Nation's overall health, continuing disparities 
remain in the burden of death and illness that certain minority groups 
experience. For example, the infant mortality rate for African-Americans 
is more than twice that of Caucasians. To address this and other 
disparities, the budget includes $135 million for health education, 
prevention, and treatment services for minority populations.
  (For additonal information see Chapter 5, ``Strengthening Health 
Care.'')

Justice

  Criminal Justice: The administration of criminal justice in America 
reflects the same racial and ethnic disparities as other aspects of 
American society, with differing rates of incarceration, sentencing and 
imposition of the death penalty. For example, black inmates comprise 50 
percent of Federal prison population, four times their proportion of the 
general population. These disparities create a distrust of law 
enforcement in many minority communities. Moreover, criminal 
victimization rates, particularly with regard to violent crimes, are 
substantially higher for minorities. The Hate Crimes Initiative 
addresses one aspect of this complicated area. President Clinton first 
announced the addition of approximately 50 FBI and Federal prosecutors 
to enforce the laws against hate crimes in 1997 at the White House 
Conference on Hate Crimes. The budget proposes $31 million to continue 
the battle against hate crimes in this Nation.
  (For additional information, see Chapter 8, ``Enforcing the Law.'')
  Civil Rights Enforcement: Since the civil rights movement eliminated 
the most obvious forms of discrimination, including segregation, it has 
become increasingly difficult to document remaining discrimination in 
areas such as housing, employment, credit and insurance. The budget 
includes $663 million for funding
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

              Table 9-1.  CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT FUNDING
             (Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Dollar    Percent
                                    1998      2000     Change:   Change:
                                   Actual   Proposed   1998 to   1998 to
                                                        2000      2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equal Employment Opportunity
 Commission.....................       242       312       +70      +29%
Housing and Urban Development:
 Fair Housing Activities........        30        47       +17      +57%
Justice: Civil Rights Division..        65        82       +17      +26%
Labor: Ofice of Federal Contract
 Compliance Programs............        62        76       +14      +23%
Education: Office for Civil
 Rights.........................        62        73       +11      +18%
Health and Human Services:
 Office of Civil Rights.........        20        22        +2      +11%
Agriculture: Civil Rights
 Programs.......................        15        19        +4      +27%
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.         9        11        +2      +22%
Transportation: Office of Civil
 Rights.........................         6         8        +2      +28%
Labor: Civil Rights Center......         5         6        +1      +14%
EPA: Office of Civil Rights.....         2         2  ........  ........
Justice: Attorneys General......  ........         5         5  ........
                                 ---------------------------------------
  Total.........................       518       663       145       28%
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                           Table 9-2.  GOVERNMENT-WIDE NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAM FUNDING
                                 (Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                               Dollar    Percent
                                                                  1998      1999      2000     Change:   Change:
                                                                 Actual   Estimate  Proposed   1999 to   1999 to
                                                                                                2000      2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIA...........................................................     1,703     1,746     1,901      +155       +9%
IHS...........................................................     2,099     2,242     2,412      +170       +8%
  Program level (non-add) \1\.................................   (2,431)   (2,652)   (2,822)    (+170)     (+6%)
All other.....................................................     3,355     3,762     3,865      +103       +3%
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
Total.........................................................     7,157     7,750     8,178      +428       +6%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ IHS program level includes both budget authority and Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance collections.

  civil rights enforcement agencies, an $84 million or 15-percent, 
  increase over the 1999 level of $579 million. The budget proposes a 
  total of $312 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
  (a 12-percent increase); $82 million for the Department of Justice's 
  Civil Rights Division (a 19-percent increase); $76 million for the 
  Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs 
  (a 17-percent increase); and $47 million for HUD's fair housing 
  activities (an 17-percent increase). Additionally, over $10 million 
  will be used by the USDA to improve civil rights enforcement and 
  program outreach to under-represented customers. (See Table 9-1 for 
  civil rights enforcement funding.)------------------------------------
  The budget proposes to target $10 million to identify and document 
discrimination. These funds include $7.5 million for the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development to expand studies that document 
discrimination in the housing market. The budget provides additional 
funds to encourage other agencies to begin tracking discrimination, and 
also funds the creation of a coordinated research agenda for Federal 
agencies to document discrimination in a variety of areas.

Commitment to Native Americans

  The Administration honors its government-to-government relationship 
with Tribes by protecting critical, reservation-level programs, and 
bringing together government leaders and resources to address priority 
Tribal concerns, such as crime and educational opportunities. The budget 
proposes $8.2 billion, six percent more than in 1999, for Government-
wide programs addressing basic Tribal needs and encouraging self-
determination (see Table 9-2).
  Law Enforcement: The second year of the Interior and Justice 
Departments' joint law enforcement initiative, for which the budget 
proposes $164 million in 2000 (50 percent over 1999), will continue to 
address high crime rates in Indian country with more resources for drug 
control and youth crime prevention programs, equipment, detention 
services, crime reporting surveys, and officer hiring and retention.
  Education: The Administration is continuing its commitment to 
education by systematically expanding the school construction initiative 
to address Indian reservations' school repair and replacement needs. As 
part of the school modernization proposal, Interior's Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA) will receive a set-aside in bond authority ($200 million 
in both 2000 and 2001, plus up to $30 million to ensure bond principal 
repayment) for its schools on Indian reservations in need of replacement 
or major repairs. In addition to school construction, BIA will increase 
resources for school operations; early intervention partnerships; child 
care; and technology within schools, classrooms and libraries. The 
Nation-wide class size reduction initiative also includes a set-aside 
for BIA schools. A separate Education Department initative

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will hire 1,000 new Indian teachers and provide professional 
development.
  Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Services: The BIA and the 
Health and Human Services Department's Indian Health Service (IHS) make 
up nearly two-thirds of Federal funding for Native American programs. 
For the BIA, the budget proposes $1.9 billion, nine percent over the 
1999 enacted level. Over 90 percent of BIA operations funding goes for 
basic, high-priority reservation-level programs such as education, 
social services, law enforcement, housing improvement, and natural 
resources management.
  For IHS, the budget proposes $2.4 billion, a substantial increase of 
eight percent over the 1999 level. This increase would enable IHS to 
continue expanding accessible and high-quality health care to its Native 
American service users, through IHS' existing network comprised of over 
540 direct health care delivery facilities (discussed earlier in this 
chapter). This increase reflects a four-pronged approach for IHS: 
substantial increase in 2000, access to health grants, Medicare and 
Medicaid reimbursements, and vigilance on fraud and abuse, which is 
discussed in detail in Chapter 5, ``Strengthening Health Care ).''
  The budget also supports access to health services and improves health 
status of Native American by ensuring that IHS' health facilities are 
adequately maintained. Within the increase, IHS will continue the 
construction of the Navajo Fort Defiance Hospital, the Parker Health 
Clinic and three to eight dental units. In addition, the $30 million a 
year in diabetes-related funding that IHS receives under the new 
Children's Health Insurance Program will help alleviate complications 
from diabetes.
  Tribal Contracting and Self-Governance: BIA and IHS will continue to 
promote Tribal self-determination through local decision-making. Tribal 
contracting and self-governance compact agreements now represent half of 
BIA's operations budget, and over 40 percent of IHS' budget.
  Indian Trust Fund Balances: The Administration is committed to 
resolving disputed Indian trust fund account balances through informal 
dispute resolution and supports the unique government-to-government 
relationship that exists in Indian trust land management issues. After 
Tribal consultations, BIA submitted its recommendations to Congress in 
November 1997. Legislation reflecting these recommendations was proposed 
in 1998, but not enacted. It will be re-proposed in the 106th Congress.
  Trust Land Management: As part of BIA's commitment to resolving trust 
land management issues, BIA will re-propose legislation to establish an 
Indian Land Consolidation program to address the ownership fractionation 
of Indian land. In 1999, BIA will devote $5 million to three pilot 
projects in Wisconsin in cooperation with Tribes, to purchase small 
ownership interests in highly fractionated tracts of land from willing 
sellers. The budget proposes to double funding for this program.
  Trust Management Improvement Project: The budget provides $90 million 
for DOI's Office of Special Trustee's trust management improvement 
project, an increase of $51 million over 1999. Current activities 
include verifying individual Indian's account data and converting these 
data to a commercial-grade accounting system. Ownership, lease, and 
royalty information related to the underlying trust assets will also be 
verified and converted to a recently acquired commercial asset 
management system.

Commitment to the District of Columbia

  As part of the 1997 balanced budget agreement, the President proposed, 
and Congress enacted, a comprehensive financial restructuring plan for 
the District of Columbia. It relieved the District of major financial 
burdens and laid the groundwork to restore the District's fiscal health. 
Due to prudent fiscal management and on-going efforts to build private 
investment, the District--facing bankruptcy only five years ago--
produced a budget surplus in 1997 and 1998. If the District continues to 
balance its budget through 2000, it will regain full home-rule.
  Under the comprehensive financial restructuring plan, the Federal 
Government assumed certain functions in which it has a clear interest.

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  Medicaid: The Federal Government has assumed the role typically played 
by both Federal and State governments under this health insurance 
program, paying 70 percent of Medicaid spending in the District 
(compared to the previous 50 percent).
  Criminal Justice: The Federal Government now funds the District's 
Court System and other key elements of the District criminal justice 
system, including the incarceration of sentenced felons and supervision 
of all adult offenders. By 2001, all adult-sentenced felons will be in 
the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). The budget includes 
$393 million to implement the President's plan for District courts and 
corrections and $255 million to accomodate the transfer of D.C. inmates 
for which FBOP assumed responsibility.
  Pensions: The Federal Government has resumed responsibility for an 
estimated $5.9 billion unfunded pension liability that it transferred to 
the District in 1979.
  The Federal Government eliminated its annual payment to the District, 
though it provided a one-time, $190 million payment for District 
operations in 1998 and provided $248 million in funding for earmarked 
economic development and infrastructure investments in 1999. To maintain 
a balanced budget in the future, the District has launched major 
management reforms, cut spending, and directed a portion of budget 
surpluses to eliminate its accumulated deficit by 2000.
  The Administration--through its departments and agencies--will 
continue to provide technical help and other assistance to the District 
in such areas as education and law enforcement. The Administration 
strongly supports the District's right to self-governance and is 
committed to do its part.

Public Television in the Digital Age

  The budget provides a total of $414 million for 2000 through 2003 for 
the public broadcasting system's transition to digital technology. 
Digital broadcasting will allow greatly expanded educational, community 
service, and cultural programming through innovative applications, 
including high-definition and interactive television. Funding through 
the Commerce Department will be devoted to promoting digital 
transmission, while funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 
will be for digital program production and development capabilities.