[Budget of the United States Government]
[IV. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[7. Strengthening the American Community]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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7. STRENGTHENING THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY
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We need to provide the same encouragement to invest in Appalachia, Native American reservations, the
Mississippi Delta, and the inner cities that we provide today to invest in new markets overseas ... It's good
for business, it's good for America's growth, and it's the right thing to do.
President Clinton
August 1999
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President Clinton took office in 1993 determined to rebuild the
American economy. In February of 2000, the economy is poised to enter
the longest period of economic expansion in recorded history. For many
Americans, the past seven years have meant opportunity and prosperity:
more than twenty million new jobs have been created; real wages have
continued to rise and the number of people who own homes has reached an
all-time high. However, there are still some communities which have not
been lifted up by this historic wave of economic expansion. In these
areas, unemployment is still too high, economic development is still too
weak, and the opportunity to build a better life is limited.
Because the President believes that ``a Nation that lives as a
community must value all its communities,'' he is committed to new and
renewed efforts to promote an agenda of opportunity and responsibility
and generate growth in these areas. The guiding principle is that the
public sector can provide incentives to attract private sector
investment, creating partnerships that tap the potential for growth,
profit, and economic opportunity in distressed areas. Proposals to
expand both the New Markets and the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise
Community Initiatives serve as the centerpieces of this year's
Administration efforts to foster the economic development of America's
neediest communities.
At the start of his first term, the President proposed, and worked
with Congress to pass, legislation creating Empowerment Zones (EZs) and
Enterprise Communities (ECs) to encourage private sector investments in
underserved areas. These efforts also established the Community
Development Financial Institutions Fund to build a network of
institutions to facilitate lending, including mortgage financing to
first-time home buyers and commercial loans to small businesses.
The New Markets Initiative in its expanded form will leverage even
more private sector investment as part of the President's overall
community development effort. Using tax credits, loan guarantees,
private investment institutions, universities, and technical expertise
for small business, this initiative offers the potential to connect
residents of distressed neighborhoods to the jobs and opportunities of
the regional marketplace, and replace economic distress with
opportunity.
In addition to the New Markets Initiative, the Administration has been
committed to strengthening America's communities through the Empowerment
Zone/Enterprise Community Initiative. Along with more private
investment, the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community Initiative has
helped create thousands of jobs that are now filled by those who have
traditionally lacked access to economic opportunity. The initiative has
also provided job training and educational opportunities for nearly
45,000 residents of EZs/ECs. Additionally, the program has helped create
more affordable housing opportunities; allowed communities to address
important public safety, infrastructure and environmental concerns;
provided social services including affordable health care, child care,
and youth development
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programs; and, encouraged investment in New Markets areas.
Many Native American communities have not taken part in this wave of
economic prosperity. High unemployment, lack of physical infrastructure,
remote locations, and lack of access to technology all contribute to the
challenges facing Indian Country. The Administration will work with
Tribes, on a government-to-government basis, to help this generation and
future generations of Native Americans receive greater opportunities.
With these goals in mind, the budget includes significant funding
increases for Native American communities in areas including health
care, education, economic development, and law enforcement.
Jobs and Economic Development
The budget builds upon ongoing efforts to encourage economic growth in
America's distressed communities through three complementary efforts:
the New Markets Initiative; the EZ/EC program; and, the Community
Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI).
The New Markets Initiative: The New Markets Initiative, for which
Congress expressed a measure of support last year by funding $39.5
million (contingent upon authorization) of the Administration's request,
is expanded to a total of $248 million. It includes three new elements:
a $15 million microenterprise initiative for investments and support of
microentrepreneurs, Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs; a $5
million university partnerships initiative; and, $30 million to make
banking more affordable and accessible to low-income communities.
Qualifying Tribes or Tribal consortia are eligible for these programs.
The New Markets Tax Credit: To help spur $15 billion in new
equity capital for a range of private investment vehicles
serving distressed communities, a 25-percent tax credit is
proposed, more than doubling last year's proposal, at a cost
of $5 billion over 10 years. Eligible entities will include
community development banks, community-oriented equity funds,
and other new investment programs created by this initiative.
A wide range of businesses can be financed by these investment
funds, including inner-city shopping centers and retail
stores, small technology firms, manufacturing facilities and
incubators, and data management facilities.
America's Private Investment Companies (APICs): APICs will
encourage private investment in this country's untapped
markets by providing loan guarantees to the debt issued by
these funds, administered by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) in consultation with the Small
Business Administration (SBA). Private investment companies
that target portfolios of larger businesses relocating to or
expanding in economically distressed inner-city and rural
areas will be eligible for loan guarantees. To be licensed,
APICs must raise a substantial amount of private capital
managed by staff with a balance of experience in private
investing and in community development. Last year, APICs
received $20 million subject to enactment of authorizing
legislation. The budget proposes $37 million.
New Markets Venture Capital (NMVCs): New Markets Venture
Capital Firms invest in smaller growth companies that can also
benefit from expert management assistance. NMVCs match equity
of private investors with Government-guaranteed debt and
technical assistance funding to cultivate the growth of
smaller firms. Last year, NMVCs received $15 million in
appropriations. The budget proposes $52 million.
Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME): This
initiative will provide $15 million to 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.
BusinessLINC: The Vice President, along with a number of
CEO's, launched BusinessLINC in December 1998 to encourage
learning, investment, networking, and collaboration between
large and small businesses, in order to accelerate the
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growth of businesses in economically distressed areas. The
budget proposes $6.6 million in additional funding for local
BusinessLINC coalitions that match large and small firms, and
provide supportive services. Of this amount, $1.25 million
will be used to develop appropriate BusinessLINC connections
in Indian Country.
University Partnerships: Another new element of the New
Markets Initiative includes $5 million, from HUD, for a pilot
project to provide grants to 10 to 12 business and law schools
to institutionalize their role in local economic development,
through a range of activities including convening discussions
on community needs, identifying local assets, formulating
strategies, and organizing new efforts. In addition, these
grants will be used by schools to foster business development
and serve businesses and community development corporations in
low- to moderate-income areas.
Financial Services: The New Markets Initiative also includes
$30 million to provide increased access to financial and
banking services for the approximately 10 million unbanked
households who do not have access to the mainstream banking
system. The initiative will encourage the creation of low-cost
bank accounts and the placement of Automated Teller Machines
(ATMs) in post offices and other locations in low-income
neighborhoods where access to ATMs is limited. It will also
promote financial education for low-income families.
Empowerment Zones (EZs)/Enterprise Communities (ECs): While the New
Markets and CDFI programs address capital access and credit, the EZ/EC
Initiative is the foundation of the Administration's empowerment agenda
for communities with high unemployment and poverty rates. This
initiative challenges qualified urban and rural areas 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 EZ/ECs is available in many forms. The Federal
Government provides tax benefits for businesses and flexible grants to
communities for job training, day care, and other purposes. EZ/ECs can
apply for waivers from Federal regulations, enabling them to better
address local needs. Special set-asides from Department of Agriculture
rural development programs are also available to rural EZ/ECs.
Round I EZ/ECs: Designated in 1994, these EZ/ECs are showing promising
results. The Baltimore, MD, EZ, for instance, has created approximately
2,860 new jobs as a result of Title XX funding and other leveraged
investments, and 3,250 Zone residents have been placed directly into
jobs through various work force placement partners. Through June 1999,
Empower Baltimore Management Corporation (EBMC) has spent more than
$18.4 million across four components of Baltimore's strategy: business
development for job creation; work force development; quality of life,
and, community-capacity building. The Kentucky Highlands Rural EZ has
used its $11 million venture capital fund to assist 30 new businesses or
business expansions, leveraging almost $66 million in capital that
created 2,319 jobs and expects to create over 1,000 more in the next few
years. Since this EZ was designated in December 1994, unemployment in
the area has dropped by more than half.
Round II and Round III EZ/ECs: In January 1999, the Administration
designated a second round of 15 urban EZs, five rural EZs, and 20 rural
ECs, selected on a competitive basis, from applications of more than 250
communities. The budget proposes $1.4 billion in mandatory grant funding
for the remaining nine years for urban EZs and $120 million for the
remaining eight years for rural EZs, as the Administration proposed in
1999 and 2000. These grants would allow communities to implement
comprehensive long-term strategies to address their local needs.
The budget also proposes a series of tax measures to extend and
improve economic growth in the 31 existing Round I and Round II EZs and
also proposes to create a Third Round of 10 new EZs (eight urban
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and two rural). The total cost of these tax expenditure proposals is
approximately $4.4 billion over 10 years. To encourage employment and
growth, the budget proposes to create and extend a 20-percent wage
credit for all existing and proposed EZs through 2009 (under current
law, only Round I EZs have the credit and it is scheduled to expire in
2004.) To enhance the incentives for small businesses in EZs, the budget
proposes to allow them to deduct an additional $35,000 in investments
above the normal small business investment deductions. The proposal will
also increase access to capital through tax exempt financing by allowing
local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds on behalf of EZ businesses.
The President's proposal would permanently extend the Brownfields Tax
Incentive in EZs.
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund):
Complementing the New Markets Initiative and EZ/EC initiatives, the Fund
uses the provision of Federal resources as the foundation for leveraging
significant private sector resources. CDFIs include a broad range of
institutions--community development banks, credit unions, venture
capital funds, business loan funds, and microenterprise loan funds--that
provide a wide range of products and services, such as mortgage
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.
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 $215 million in financial and
technical assistance to CDFIs. In addition, the Fund has awarded over
$90 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.
Other programs that promote economic development and provide services
to underserved families, individuals and markets include:
HUD's Community Empowerment Fund (CEF): The CEF/EDI, working in tandem
with the Section 108 loan guarantee program, will work with a new pilot
program beginning in 2000 to create loan pools to improve the
securitization of Section 108 loans.
HUD's Continuum of Care: This program promotes comprehensive systems
to address the needs of homeless individuals and families. The
Administration proposes $1.2 billion in HUD homeless assistance, an
increase of 18 percent over 2000. This funding level includes $105
million for rental assistance vouchers to help the homeless move to
permanent housing with supportive services. The Administration also
proposes to expand access to mainstream health, social services, and
employment programs for which the homeless may be eligible through a new
$10 million program administered by the Department of Health and Human
Services, States, and large counties. The initiative includes expanding
access to Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance Program, Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families, Food Stamps, and services funded through
the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Block Grant, Workforce Investment
Act, and the Welfare-to-Work grant program.
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development Programs: Because
their needs can vary widely, no single approach will help both urban and
rural communities. The Administration once again proposes to give
States, localities, and Tribes more flexibility in their use of 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 $3.4 billion in loans and grants for RCAP, 29 percent
more than in 2000, and the full flexibility
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that the 1996 Farm Bill envisioned. It also reproposes Partnership
Technical Assistance (PTA) grants to assist rural communities in
developing strategic plans for economic development, and grants for
early-warning weather systems in areas prone to tornadoes. As part of
the Administration's multi-agency initiative for the Mississippi Delta
Region (MDR), $2 million of the $7 million in PTA grants are targeted to
MDR counties (the 219 counties of the region as defined by P.L. 100-
460). In addition, there is a set-aside of $8 million in Intermediary
Relending Program Loans for the MDR.
Farm Safety Net proposal: Many rural communities depend significantly
on the economic health of the farm sector. In addition to helping these
communities diversify their economic base, through the New Markets and
other economic and community development initiatives in the budget, the
Administration is proposing an $11 billion package to enhance the farm
safety net through 2002, when the next farm bill will be enacted (see
Table 7-1).
It has become painfully clear that the 1996 Farm Bill fails to support
farm family incomes when prices fall or natural disasters strike. Even
with $15 billion in emergency funding appropriated for distressed
farmers and ranchers in the last two years, assistance remains
inadequate because the 1996 Farm Bill is fundamentally flawed. While we
cannot rewrite all farm policy this year, we can provide relief to those
in need through the life of the current farm bill.
The budget proposes to mend the farm safety net by providing counter-
cyclical income assistance when crop prices are low, to make up a
portion of farmers' lost revenue relative to a five-year average,
freezing the USDA marketing loan rates for the 2000 crops at their 1999
levels, and increasing Federal crop insurance subsidies so farmers are
better protected from natural disaster losses.
The budget also proposes major increases in USDA conservation
programs, such as the new Conservation Security Program and the existing
Conservation and Wetlands Reserve and Farmland Protection Programs,
which would enable farm families to conserve and enhance environmentally
sensitive farmland and protect their farms from urban and suburban
sprawl while increasing farm income. To help diversify farm families'
income sources, the budget also includes funding to enable farmer
cooperatives to build commodity processing facilities that will channel
value-added profits back to producers, and supports greater crop use for
bioenergy production.
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Table 7-1. $5.7 Billion Increase in 2001 for the Farm Safety Net
(Mandatory funding, in millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual 2001 Change:
-------------------- 2000 ---------------------- Authorized
Estimate Authorized Level to
1993 1999 Level Proposed Proposed
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Proposed Authorizations:
Crop insurance reform........... BA 868 1,674 742 1,759 2,669 +910
OL 726 1,588 1,967 2,015 2,560 +545
Non-insured Crop Disaster BA ........ 54 185 86 196 +110
Assistance: Remove area-loss
trigger........................
OL ........ 54 185 86 196 +110
Income assistance:
Guarantee 92 percent of five- BA ........ ........ ........ .......... 2,464 +2,464
year average \1\.............
OL ........ ........ ........ .......... 2,464 +2,464
Extend dairy price-support BA 120 242 250 107 257 +150
program to 2002..............
OL 120 242 250 107 257 +150
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Income assistance.... BA 120 242 250 107 2,721 +2,614
OL 120 242 250 107 2,721 +2,614
Conservation programs \2\....... BA ........ 335 355 246 1,409 +1,163
OL ........ 323 417 300 1,124 +824
Empowerment Zones/
Enterprise Communities \3\.... BA ........ 15 15 .......... 15 +15
OL ........ ........ 5 .......... ........ ..........
Cooperative development......... BA ........ ........ ........ .......... 80 +80
OL ........ ........ ........ .......... 80 +80
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Subtotal, Proposed BA 988 2,320 1,547 2,198 7,090 +4,892
Authorizations.
OL 846 2,207 2,824 2,508 6,681 +4,173
Existing Authorization:
Marketing loan rates frozen..... BA ........ ........ 20 .......... 500 +500
OL ........ ........ 20 .......... 500 +500
Bioenergy (ethanol) Incentive BA ........ ........ 100 .......... 150 +150
Payments:
OL ........ ........ 100 .......... 150 +150
Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP):
Continuous sign-up bonus........ BA ........ 2 110 13 138 +125
OL ........ 2 110 13 138 +125
Farm storage facility loans..... BA ........ ........ ........ .......... 10 +10
OL ........ ........ ........ .......... 10 +10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Existing BA ........ 2 210 13 798 +785
Authorization.
OL ........ 2 210 13 798 +785
===============================================================================
Total, Farm Safety Net BA 988 2,322 1,796 2,211 7,888 +5,677
Initiative...............
OL 846 2,209 3,059 2,521 7,479 +4,958
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\1\ The income assistance proposal would also generate $600 million in 2000 outlays.
\2\ This initiative would also increase cumulative CRP enrollment to 40 million acres, allowing an additional
1.2 million acres to sign up annually in 2001 through 2003. The first CRP payments for these additional acres
would be made in 2002.
\3\ 1999 and 2000 amounts are classified as discretionary spending.
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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. Furthermore, the Administration is doubling the ARC's
Entrepreneurship Initiative, which seeks to fund innovative economic
development projects in the region, from $5 million to $10 million in
2001, a significant increase to ARC's total funding of $71 million.
Rural Alaskan Economic Development: The Denali Commission, which
focuses on the economic development challenges of rural Alaska, will
provide resources to improve the basic infrastructure of this region.
Thirty million of new funding will address water and sewer and leaking
fuel storage tanks in Alaska. Funds will also be used to create job
training programs to provide the sustainable economic development
opportunities for these remote Alaskan communities.
Delta Regional Authority (DRA): The budget includes $153 million to
create the new DRA to assist the Lower Mississippi Delta Region. This
proposal includes $30 million in new resources to create this new
authority. Modeled after other economic development agencies, the DRA
will target its funding and resources to economically distressed
counties throughout the Delta. The remaining $123 million will be
targeted to these counties from existing programs at the Departments of
Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture,
Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services.
Livable Communities Initiative: The Livability Communities initiative
encourages the creation of livable communities and regions
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by aligning and dedicating new and existing Federal resources in support
of locally determined livability initiatives. The programs included in
the Livable Communities initiative will help accelerate and strengthen
the development of regional capacities to address the problems of making
America's metropolitan and rural areas good places to live, work, play
and raise a family. The budget proposes
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four investments as part of the Livable Communities initiative.
This initiative includes an unprecedented request for a $6.3 billion
mass transit transportation initiative, a $1.6 billion congestion relief
and air quality improvement program, $468 million for the Expanded
Passenger Rail Fund, $719 million to implement the enhancements program;
and, $52 million for the Transportation and Community and System
Preservation pilot. In addition, the Better America Bonds program,
administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, will provide
Federal tax credit bonds enabling local, State and Tribal governments to
issue $10.8 billion over five years for green space preservation, water
quality enhancement, and clean up of abandoned industrial sites. HUD's
$25 million Regional Connections Initiative will 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. As a part of the Livable Communities Initiative,
the budget also proposes $125 million for the Department of Justice's
Crime-Solving Technologies to improve community safety.
Also included in the budget is the continuation of the Lands Legacy
initiative, which will complement the Administration's Livable
Communities initiative, by emphasizing land conservation; smart growth
planning; and partnerships with State, local, and Tribal governments and
non-profit groups to preserve open spaces in urban, suburban, rural, and
coastal areas (see Chapter 4, ``Protecting the Environment''). This
year's Lands Legacy initiative includes $50 million for the Interior
Department's new State Planning Partnerships of which $30 million is for
the Community/Federal Information Partnership (C/FIP). The funding will
provide grants, contracts, technical assistance, information, and
analytical tools to communities to manage resources and future growth
while preserving environmentally sensitive land.
The Administration is proposing a manufacturing initiative to assist
industry, workers, and communities that have been adversely impacted in
part by the slowdown in the Asian economy and other factors beyond their
control. This initiative will double the funding for the Economic
Development Administration's Economic Adjustment program to better
assist communities that experience sudden and severe economic distress
due to adverse global market conditions. It will provide the tools and
resources to get direct technical assistance to communities in need, as
have similar intensive, inter-agency efforts in the past which have
successfully engaged industry, communities, and workers to address
situations prompted by a downturn in economic conditions, like base
closings. Additionally, the initiative will support efforts to promote
the use of electronic commerce for trade promotion activities by large
and small manufacturers. Increased funding of $15.5 million for the
Department of Commerce will provide the resources to support enhanced
trade compliance activities, by adding trade and compliance officers to
monitor unfair trade practices and by reducing the time it takes to
prepare dumping and countervailing duty cases. This enhanced monitoring
and preparing trade cases in a quicker time frame will better provide
effective relief to trade-injured industries and workers.
Housing Needs of American Communities
The Administration's efforts to create the National Partners in
Homeownership--a coalition of 66 key public and private housing
organizations--and to form a National Homeownership Strategy have led
more families to homeownership than at any time in American history.
Along with a strong economy and low interest rates, the Administration's
policies have helped boost homeownership to 67 percent--a new all-time
high. Under this Administration, 8.7 million Americans have become
homeowners, including record numbers of minorities.
The Administration's efforts to increase support for housing for low-
income families resulted in an increase in 2000 of 60,000 new housing
vouchers. The budget seeks to build on this progress and proposes to
double the number of new housing vouchers, providing $690 million for
120,000 new vouchers Nationwide.
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Federal Housing Administration (FHA): The Administration's successful
1999 proposal to increase the FHA mortgage limit has allowed FHA to help
50,000 more families purchase their first homes, especially large
families and families in high cost areas. Building on this success, the
budget proposes to further increase the FHA mortgage limit to allow an
additional 55,000 families to purchase homes in 2001. The budget also
authorizes FHA to offer new adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products,
opening homeownership to more than 40,000 families in 2001. These new
products will offer a sound mortgage product to borrowers who do not
qualify for a fixed-rate mortgage or cannot afford fixed-rate pricing,
but who want to avoid the volatility associated with traditional ARMs.
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC): The budget proposes to expand
the LIHTC to spur the private sector to develop more affordable low-
income rental housing in high poverty areas. The proposal will cost $1.0
billion over the next five years and help develop another 75,000 to
90,000 units per year.
Assisted Housing: The Administration proposes $690 million for 120,000
housing vouchers, including 32,000 for families seeking to move from
welfare to work, and 18,000 to help the homeless move to permanent
housing with supportive services. Under the HUD Welfare-to-Work voucher
program, local housing agencies that work in partnership with State and
local welfare agencies will get the flexibility to design programs
serving welfare families for whom housing assistance is critical to
getting and retaining jobs. In addition, the budget continues to reduce
poverty concentrations by providing $625 million in HOPE VI grants to
local housing authorities to demolish approximately 28,000 dilapidated
non-viable public housing units over the next three years, and replace
them with portable subsidies or newly constructed mixed-income housing.
These funds provide sufficient resources to surpass the Administration's
goal of demolishing 100,000 of the most severely distressed units by
2003.
USDA's Rural Housing Service (RHS) offers direct and guaranteed loans
and grants to help very low- to moderate-income rural residents buy and
maintain adequate, affordable housing. One of the RHS goals is to reduce
the number of rural residents living in substandard housing. The RHS
direct loan program provides subsidized loans to very low and low-income
rural residents. Its single family guaranteed loan program guarantees up
to 90 percent of a private loan for buying new or existing housing.
Together, the two programs will provide $5 billion in loans and loan
guarantees in 2001, providing 68,000 decent, safe, affordable homes for
rural Americans. This level of funding includes a legislative proposal
increasing the single family housing guarantee program loan fee from one
percent to two percent, which permits the Administration to provide
higher loan levels at less cost.
RHS's section 515 program, which generally lends to private
developers, finances both the construction and rehabilitation of rural
rental housing for low- to moderate-income, elderly, and handicapped
rural residents. The budget provides $120 million in direct loans,
providing over 1,400 new units for very low-income tenants in rural
America. RHS also provides section 538 multifamily housing guaranteed
loans, and the budget provides a loan level of $200 million, which funds
3,200 new units for low to moderate income tenants. Additional
multifamily housing funding includes $45 million in the farm labor
housing program level--an increase of 20 percent over 2000--that serves
almost 100 percent minority populations.
In addition, the budget contains $20 million as a new set-aside within
the HUD CDBG program in competitive grants for targeted technical
assistance to increase the role of non-profit (including community-based
and interfaith) organizations in supplying and maintaining affordable
housing, creating economic opportunity, and participating in a wide
range of HUD programs that assist low-income people in high poverty
areas.
New Opportunity Agenda through Volunteerism
The budget includes numerous programs to narrow disparities and to
increase economic opportunity in our Nation so that we may achieve the
goal of strengthening the American community.
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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 America ever since its
founding. In 1994, President Clinton signed the King Holiday and Service
Act making this national holiday a day of service to bring people
together, promote racial cooperation, and help solve problems through
citizen action.
The Corporation for National and Community Service: This agency and
its programs encourages Americans of all ages and backgrounds to help
solve community problems and provides opportunities to engage in
community-based service. The budget proposes $851 million for the
Corporation, a 16-percent increase over 2000.
AmeriCorps: Over 150,000 individuals will have participated in the
Corporation's AmeriCorps in its first five years. The program helps
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.
Building upon the Administration's commitment to national service, the
budget proposes to increase annual AmeriCorps participation to 100,000
by 2004. As the first step on that path, the budget adds 9,000
Americorps participants in 2001 for a total of 62,000. In addition, the
budget provides $5 million for an AmeriCorps Reserves Program, modeled
after the military reserves, to re-engage AmeriCorps alumni in service
to their communities on weekends and in times of natural disasters.
Service Opportunities for Youth: The budget includes $15.5 million in
the Corporation for New Youth Initiatives, including $5 million for a
Community Coaches program to increase service-learning opportunities for
youth; $3 million for Youth Empowerment Grants to support youth-focused
projects that solve problems in their communities, such as youth
violence; and $7.5 million to support America's Promise: The Alliance
for Youth to help all children grow into healthy, strong, and productive
adults.
The National Senior Service Corps: This Corporation program provides
opportunities for citizens age 55 and older to use their time and
talents to meet community needs. The budget includes $193 million for
the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent
Program, and the Senior Companion Program, enabling more than half a
million older Americans to help others of all ages.
From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity
Access to computers and the Internet and the ability to use this
technology are becoming increasingly important for full participation in
America's economic, political, and cultural life. In the face of strong
evidence of a digital divide--a gap between those who have access to
information technology and those who do not--the Administration proposes
an initiative to help close the digital divide and ensure that every
American benefits from the opportunities created by information
technology.
Community Technology Centers (CTCs): CTCs are designed to provide
access to and training for information technology in a community-based
setting within traditionally underserved areas. The budget provides $100
million in 2001 to support the creation of up to 1,000 CTCs.
Broadband Communities: Grants and loans to communities by the
Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) and
the USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will help ensure that
underserved rural, urban, and Native American communities can build the
infrastructure necessary to promote economic development through
broadband (high-speed Internet) technology and electronic commerce. The
Administration proposes $23 million for EDA to provide grants to
distressed communities to plan for and install broadband infrastructure,
and a RUS pilot program consisting of $2 million in grants and $100
million in loans to finance
[[Page 130]]
installation of broadband transmission capacity to and through rural
communities.
Internet Home Access Program: The Administration proposes $50 million
for a new grant program that would provide low-income individuals and
families with connections, training, and support necessary for full
participation in today's increasingly online society. The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration within the Department
of Commerce will encourage community-based partnerships between local
organizations, academia, and private industry to devise solutions that
address the needs of low-income populations in gaining access to
technology and online resources at home. In order to demonstrate the
local and private sector commitments, applicants will be required to
provide matching funds.
Technology Opportunities Program: Increased economic opportunity for
all Americans hinges not only upon access to information technology
tools but also upon content and applications that help empower low-
income households and underserved communities. The budget proposes
increasing funding for the Department of Commerce's Technology
Opportunities Program (formerly the Telecommunications and Information
Infrastructure Applications Program) to $45 million to expand its
successful program of replicable, community-based grants into areas such
as on-line support for microenterprise development and distance
learning.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Television in the Digital Age
The budget provides a total of $393 million for 2001 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 Department of Commerce will be devoted to promoting digital transmission, while
funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be for digital program production and development
capabilities.
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Civil Rights Enforcement
The Administration is committed to expand efforts to help ensure that
no American is denied a job, a home, or an education because of their
race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or disability; we will help ensure
equal opportunity for all Americans. The budget includes $698 million
for funding civil rights enforcement agencies, an $81 million, or 13-
percent, increase over the 2000 level of $617 million.
The budget proposes a total of $322 million for the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (a 15-percent increase) to support the agency's
effort to reduce the backlog of private sector cases to 28,000 by the
end of 2001; $98 million for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights
Division (a 19-percent increase) to expand investigations and
prosecutions of criminal civil rights cases (including hate crimes),
promote compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and handle
more police misconduct cases; $76 million for the Department of
Education's Office of Civil Rights (a seven-percent increase) which
includes funds to support staff training and technological improvements
to ensure a viable civil rights compliance and enforcement program; $76
million for the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (a four-percent increase) to continue the
President's Equal Pay Initiative; and, $50 million for HUD's fair
housing activities (a 14-percent increase) to reduce housing
discrimination by working with public and private fair housing groups to
assist in enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. Additionally, $21 million
will be used by USDA to improve civil rights enforcement and program
outreach to under-represented customers. (See Table 7-2 for the civil
rights enforcement funding summary.) The budget also includes a $27
million Equal Pay Initiative to educate employers and the public about
wage issues, to provide training to women for non-traditional jobs, and
to help employers assess and improve their pay policies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 7-2. Civil Rights Enforcement Funding
(Budget authority, in millions of dollars)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change:
1999 2000 2001 2000 to
Actual Estimate Proposed 2001
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Agriculture: Civil 16 18 21 +3
Rights Programs................
Department of Education: Office 66 71 76 +5
for Civil Rights...............
Department of Health and Human
Services:
Office for Civil Rights....... 21 22 24 +2
Department of Housing and Urban
Development:
Fair Housing Activities....... 40 44 50 +6
Department of Justice:
Civil Rights Division......... 69 82 98 +16
Department of Labor:
Office of Federal Contract 65 73 76 +3
Compliance Programs..........
Civil Rights Center........... 5 6 6 ........
Department of Transportation: 7 7 9 +2
Office of Civil Rights.........
Environmental Protection Agency: 4 4 5 +1
Office of Civil Rights.........
Commission on Civil Rights...... 9 9 11 +2
Equal Employment Opportunity 279 281 322 +41
Commission.....................
---------------------------------------
Total....................... 581 617 698 +81
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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[[Page 131]]
Commitment to Native Americans
The relationship between the U.S. Government and Native Americans is a
historical one founded on a trust responsibility. The Administration
continues to honor its government-to-government relationship with Tribes
by supporting critical programs serving Indian reservations, and by
bringing together Tribal leaders and resources across the Government to
address priority Tribal concerns, such as health care, education,
economic development, infrastructure development, and other basic
services. Within the total funding to address the unique relationship
with Native Americans, the Administration includes a Government-wide
initiative increase of $1.2 billion to address these crucial issues
comprehensively and systematically. The Domestic Policy Council
Interagency Work Group, chaired by the Interior Secretary, will
coordinate agency efforts to implement the initiative.
The budget reflects the Administration's commitment to Native
Americans, proposing $9.4 billion, 14 percent more than in 2000 and 75
percent over 1993, for Federal programs addressing basic Tribal needs
and encouraging self-determination (see Table 7-3). The Health and Human
Services Department's Indian Health Service (IHS) at $2.6 billion (10
percent over 2000) and the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) at $2.2 billion (18 percent over 2000) make up more than
half of total Federal funding for Native American programs and services.
In addition, BIA and IHS will continue to promote Tribal self-
determination through local decision-making. Tribal contracting and
self-governance compact agreements now represent 41 percent of BIA's
operations budget, and over 42 percent of IHS' budget.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 7-3. Selected Components of the Native American Initiative
(Budget authority, in millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual Change: Change:
-------------------- 2000 2001 1993 to 2000 to
1993 1999 Estimate Proposed 2001 2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care:
Indian Health Service (IHS/HHS)................... 1,858 2,240 2,391 2,620 +762 +230
IHS program level, including receipts........... 2,022 2,650 2,830 3,060 +1,038 +230
Education:
BIA School Construction, Repair, Maintenance (BIA/ 90 60 133 300 +210 +167
DOI).............................................
School Construction For Public Schools Serving 4 5 5 55 +51 +50
High Concentrations of Native Americans (Ed Dept)
BIA School Operations (BIA/DOI)................... 343 476 467 507 +164 +40
Indian Education Assistance for Public and BIA 82 66 77 116 +34 +39
Schools Serving Native Americans (Ed Dept).......
Support of Tribal Community Colleges (Multiagency) 24 44 52 67 +43 +15
Economic Development:
New Markets and Other Activities--Economic 3 3 3 49 +46 +46
Development Administration (Commerce)............
Digital Opportunity and Other Activities (NSF).... ........ ........ ........ 10 +10 +10
Small Business Development (SBA).................. ........ * * 6 +6 +6
Community Development Financial Institutions ........ ........ ........ 5 +5 +5
(Treasury).......................................
Rural Community Advancement Program/RCAP (USDA)... ........ ........ 12 24 +24 +12
Commercial Code Implementation and Other 35 35 35 44 +9 +9
Activities--Administration on Native Americans
(HHS)............................................
Infrastructure and Other Basic Services:
Indian Reservation Roads and Bridges:
Road/Bridge Construction (DOT).................. 202 284 250 375 +173 +125
Road/Bridge Maintenance (BIA/DOI).............. 30 26 26 32 +2 +6
Indian Housing:
Housing and Urban Development................... 401 693 693 725 +324 +32
Housing Improvement Program (BIA/DOI)........... 20 16 16 32 +12 +16
Joint Indian Country Law Enforcement:
Department of Justice........................... 4 182 195 279 +275 +84
BIA/DOI........................................ 9 98 141 157 +148 +16
-----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Law Enforcement..................... 13 280 336 439 +426 +103
Capacity Building & Other Basic Services:
Environmental Protection Agency................. 38 159 170 188 +150 +18
Improved Trust Services (BIA/DOI)............... 85 74 73 108 +23 +35
Operation of Indian Programs (BIA/DOI).......... 1,363 1,584 1,640 1,795 +432 +155
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Government-wide Funding for Native American 5,361 7,806 8,201 9,380 +4,019 +1,178
Programs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* $500 thousand or less.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Government-wide initiative will substantially expand existing
services and create new opportunities for Native Americans in four
principal areas:
Health Care: For IHS, the budget proposes an investment of
$2.6 billion, a 10-percent increase over the 2000 level. This
increase will enable IHS to continue expanding accessible and
high-quality health care to its Native American service users,
through IHS' existing network comprised of over 543 direct
health care delivery facilities. This increase reflects a
five-pronged approach for IHS: a substantial funding increase
in 2001, better access to health grants, Medicare and Medicaid
reimbursements, achievement of medical efficiencies by
ensuring that health care procedures are done only when they
are necessary and are done in a cost-effective manner,
[[Page 132]]
and vigilance on fraud and abuse. (Additional detail is
provided in Chapter 3, ``Strengthening Health Care.'')
The budget also supports access to health services and improves the
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 (AZ) Hospital, the Parker
Health (AZ) Clinic, and the Winnebago (NE) Hospital. In addition, the
$30 million a year in diabetes-related funding that IHS receives under
the Children's Health Insurance Program will help alleviate
complications from diabetes.
Education: The Administration is continuing its commitment to
Native American education by systematically funding school
repair and replacement needs on Indian reservations. The
budget proposes
[[Page 133]]
$300 million (more than double the 2000 level) for BIA to fund
the replacement of six elementary and secondary schools and
numerous health and safety improvement and repair projects
across Indian Country. Within BIA's school construction funds,
up to $30 million may be used by Tribes or tribal consortia to
defease the principal on bonds authorized under the
Administration's school construction bonding proposal. In
addition to school construction, BIA will provide $507 million
(nine percent over 2000) for elementary and secondary school
operations, early childhood development, and early
intervention partnerships by establishing therapeutic pilots
at six BIA boarding schools to provide students with services
ranging from education to mental health and substance abuse
treatment.
The Education Department will provide $1.7 billion (eight percent over
2000) in direct and indirect support for the education of Native
Americans. This includes $116 million ($39 million over 2000) for the
Indian Education program to fund grants to local educational agencies
and continue the second year of in-service and pre-service training for
the American Indian Teacher Corps initiative. This amount also provides
$5 million for a new initiative, the American Indian Administrator
Corps, that will support the recruitment, training, and in-service
professional development of American Indian professionals to become
effective school administrators in schools with high populations of
Native American students. The Department will also set aside $50 million
in its $1.3 billion national School Renovation initiative for public
schools with high concentrations of Native American students and provide
an additional $5 million for the schools under Impact Aid Construction.
Across the Government, agencies contribute to Native American
postsecondary education through financial support of Tribal colleges.
For example, the Interior, Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban
Development, and Transportation Departments propose a total of $67
million (29 percent over 2000) for activities related to curriculum
development, student recruitment, student services, professor training,
research capacity-building, and tribal outreach.
Economic Development: The 2001 Budget proposes $54 million in
Tribal funding (nearly nine times the 2000 level) for the
Department of Commerce. In keeping with last year's efforts to
expand New Markets to underserved areas, $49 million of the
total amount will further the Economic Development
Administration's infrastructure, planning, and public works
projects on Indian Reservations. These projects will focus on
technology, business development, and Tribal economic
development activities.
The Administration proposes a new initiative for Tribal colleges to
encourage Native Americans to pursue information technology and other
science and technology fields as areas of study, as well as to increase
the capacity of these institutions to offer relevant courses. The budget
provides $10 million, to be administered by the National Science
Foundation, for course and program development, and for teacher
professional development activities at feeder schools.
The budget also proposes $6 million for the Small Business
Administration (SBA) to fund the Office of Native American Affairs and
to establish two initiatives for improving economic development on
reservations: BusinessLinc and Native American Small Business
Development Centers (SBDC). The SBA will expand the successful
BusinessLINC program to Indian Country by establishing mentor/protege
relationships between large and small businesses. In addition, the
budget proposes new funding to expand the SBDC program into Indian
Country to provide business and technical assistance to Native American
entrepreneurs. A set-aside of $5 million from the Treasury Department's
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund will also be used to
promote New Markets on reservations by establishing a training and
technical assistance program addressing human capital development needs
in Indian Country.
The budget includes $229 million (16 percent over 2000) for
Agriculture Department programs serving Indian reservations, of which
$26 million ($14 million over 2000) is targeted
[[Page 134]]
to Tribes through Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP) and other
economic development activities. This funding will provide low-interest
loans and grants to construct and improve Tribal water and wastewater
systems, and community facilities like health clinics and child care
centers on Indian reservations, and to diversify and expand economic
opportunities.
In addition, the Health and Human Services Department's Administration
on Native Americans will allocate $2 million of its $9 million increase
over 2000 to support additional efforts to develop Tribal legal codes.
This funding will support Tribal efforts to develop environmental and
tax codes, as well as codes addressing the areas of business,
commercial, zoning, land use, hunting, fishing, and juvenile and child
welfare.
Infrastructure and Other Services: The Department of
Transportation's (DOT) 2001 proposed level of $375 million (50
percent over 2000) will improve roads, bridges, highway safety
and transportation services on Indian reservations. Within
this total, $349 million for the Indian Reservation Roads
Program, (a 50-percent increase over 2000) will allow Tribes
to address the estimated backlog of $4 billion in needs on
these roads and bridges. In addition, a $5 million set-aside
for Indian tribes within DOT's Access program will increase
mobility and access to employment opportunities on
reservations. To ensure that Native Americans have the skills
to compete for transportation jobs, $1 million will be
dedicated for construction skills training. In addition, total
funding to improve highway safety on Indian reservation roads
will double with an additional $1 million.
Of the BIA's total funds, $32 million (20 percent over 2000) will be
used to supplement DOT's funds by maintaining BIA and Tribal roads on
reservations across the country, and $32 million (more than twice the
2000 level) will be used to repair or replace dilapidated homes across
Indian Country, to prevent family displacement.
The budget includes $725 million (five percent over 2000) in HUD to
enable Tribes and Tribal housing entities to create affordable rental
and homeownership opportunities, as well as develop the regulatory and
legal framework necessary to facilitate economic revitalization and
homeownership on Tribal lands. The budget establishes a new information
hotline for Government-wide Native American programs funded out of the
Indian Community Development Block Grant program.
The third year of the Interior and Justice Departments' joint law
enforcement initiative, for which the budget proposes $439 million in
2001 (31 percent over 2000), will continue to address high crime rates
in Indian Country by providing more resources for officer hiring and
retention, drug control and youth crime prevention programs, law
enforcement equipment, construction of detention facilities, and crime
reporting surveys.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will continue to provide
technical assistance to Tribes on such activities as hazardous and solid
waste removal, leaking underground storage tanks, and water protection.
The budget increases the Tribal share of the Clean Water State Revolving
Fund appropriation from 0.5 to 1.5 percent. Part of EPA's proposed $188
million Tribal budget would also be used for increased Tribal general
assistance grants to build institutional capacity for implementing
Tribal environmental programs on Indian lands.
The Administration is committed to improving trust services and
management through its trust reform efforts at the Interior Department.
The budget proposes $108 million (48 percent over 2000) for improved
trust services in the BIA, for activities such as probate, real estate
appraisals and other services, and cadastral surveys.
In addition, 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. The Department will continue efforts to resolve trust
fund account balances.
[[Page 135]]
The budget provides $83 million for the Interior Department's (DOI's)
Office of Special Trustee, including the trust management improvement
project. Current activities include verifying the remaining individual
Indian 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.
As part of DOI's commitment to resolving trust land management issues,
DOI worked with Congress in 1999 to repropose legislation to establish
an Indian Land Consolidation program to address the ownership
fractionation of Indian land. DOI began implementing three pilot
projects in Wisconsin, in cooperation with Tribes, to purchase small
ownership interests in highly fractionated tracts of land from willing
sellers. In the nine months of this effort, more than 8,000 small
ownership interests have been consolidated. The budget proposes $13
million in 2001 for this program and DOI will work with Congress to get
legislation enacted in the 106th Congress, limiting future
fractionation.
Firefighter Health and Safety Initiative
Firefighters play a critical role in protecting the health and safety
of the community, and in order to further protect their own health and
safety, the Administration is proposing a new $25 million pilot grant
program that will assist needy communities in obtaining necessary health
and safety equipment for their firefighting personnel. This program,
administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will help
communities reduce firefighter injuries and fatalities, and improve
their ability to effectively respond to fire emergencies.
Commitment to the District of Columbia
The Administration strongly supports the District of Columbia's right
of self-governance and continues to work with the District to promote
economic well-being and to advance the interests of the District. 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 six years ago--produced
budget surpluses in 1997 and 1998 and projects a third budget surplus 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. If the
District continues to balance its budget through 2000, it can regain
full home-rule.
The budget includes $486 million to implement the President's plan for
District courts and corrections, including $224 million to house the
District's sentenced felon population. By December 2001, all adult-
sentenced felons will be in the custody of the Federal Bureau of
Prisons.
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. In addition, the
Administration continues to assist the District in spurring neighborhood
revitalization and economic development and in bolstering the District's
long-term fiscal stability. In 2000, the Federal Government provided $17
million to launch a college tuition program for District residents. This
budget proposes to continue to fund the program at $17 million.
For 2001, the budget provides $38 million for economic development and
infrastructure investments, including $10 million for environmental
remediation and site preparation of property to be used in an
economically distressed neighborhood slated for economic development, $3
million for the study and designs for a National Museum of American
Music, and $25 million for the Federal share of construction of a
Metrorail station at the intersection of New York and Florida Avenues,
in Northeast DC. This $25 million will be matched by city and private
funds to create an improved gateway into the Nation's Capital and
revitalize the distressed neighborhoods surrounding the Metrorail site.
[[Page 136]]
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Building One America for the 21st Century
The President's vision of One America in the 21st Century is a diverse, democratic community in which we respect
and celebrate our differences, while embracing the shared values that unite us. The President envisions an
America based on opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and one community of all Americans. To reach
that goal, he has asked all Americans to join him in a national effort to deal openly and honestly with our
racial differences. Americans must improve their understanding of the history of race, and how this history
contributes to conflicting views on race and racial progress held by Americans of color and white Americans.
The President recognizes that, even as America rapidly becomes a truly multi-racial democracy, race relations
remains an issue that too often divides our Nation and keeps the American dream from becoming a reality for
everyone who seeks to take part through hard-work and responsibility.
In February 1999, the President established his Initiative for One America, the first White House office
dedicated to ensuring a coordinated and focused strategy to close the opportunity gap that exists for many
minorities and the underserved. The One America office builds on the important work done by the President's
Initiative on Race in 1997 and 1998 by promoting the President's goals of educating the American public about
race; encouraging racial reconciliation through a national dialogue on race; identifying policies that can
expand opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities; and ensuring common access to health care and the broad
enforcement of laws against discrimination. The Initiative for One America coordinates the work of the White
House and Federal agencies to carry out the President's vision of One America and partners with non-government
entities to increase private sector commitment, investment and action to increase opportunity.
The One America Initiative has hosted discussions and public forums on diversity and opportunity to a wide range
of organizations, educational institutions, and communities all across the country. For example, it launched
the Presidential Call to Action to the American Legal Community in a joint effort with Department of Justice
officials and professionals to implement a nationwide strategic plan to increase opportunity and promote racial
diversity in the legal profession. It also worked with the Department of Education to promote a Campus Days
Dialogue program to discuss a variety of educational challenges and the importance of faculty leadership on the
issue of diversity. This year, 620 educational institutions participated in the Campus Dialogue program. The
Initiative also worked with local elected officials and advocacy organizations to develop a proactive strategy
to address the sometimes volatile relationship between communities of color and law enforcement agencies.
The Administration has made progress in a range of program areas, including those listed below. Many others are
listed throughout the budget.
For example:
Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. In February 1998, the President committed the
Nation to an ambitious goal by the year 2010: eliminate disparities in six health areas where racial and
ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected, while continuing the progress we have made in improving
the overall health of the American people. As a key part of this effort, the budget includes $35 million, a
17-percent increase over 2000, for demonstration projects (begun in 1999) to better address racial
disparities in health.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 137]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Building One America for the 21st Century--Continued
Closing the Education Opportunity Gap. Increases in funding for major education initiatives,
including school construction and class size reduction, will significantly benefit minority groups. Other
targeted programs also receive generous funding increases, including a $823 million increase in the Hispanic
Education Action Plan and a $20 million increase in funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
As these efforts continue, many other programs included by the President in the budget and described in these
chapters will advance these goals to realize the potential of One America in the 21st Century.
----------------------------------------------------------------------