    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [September 9, 1993]
    [Pages 1460-1462]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum Establishing the President's Community Enterprise Board
    September 9, 1993

    Memorandum for the Vice President, the Secretary of the Treasury, the
    Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
    Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the
    Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and
    Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of
    Education, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the
    Director of National Drug Control Policy, the Administrator of the Small
    Business Administration, the Assistant to the President for Domestic
    Policy, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Chair of
    the Council of Economic Advisers, the Director of the Office of
    Management and Budget

        The Vice President and I strongly believe that the best way to serve
    distressed communities in urban and rural America is through a
    comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated approach that combines
    bottom-up initiatives and private sector innovations with responsive
    Federal-State support. Today, I direct the Federal agencies to work
    cooperatively to implement this approach in a way that reflects the
    principles of the Vice President's National Performance Review--i.e.,
    meeting the needs of local communities through a performance-measured,
    customer-driven philosophy and a cross-agency approach. I also hereby
    establish the President's Community Enterprise Board (``Board'') to
    advise and assist me in coordinating across agencies the various Federal
    programs available (or potentially available) to distressed communities
    and in developing further policies related to the successful
    implementation of our community empowerment efforts.
        The Vice President has agreed to chair this Board, and the Assistant
    to the President for Domestic Policy and the Assistant to the President
    for Economic Policy have agreed to serve as Vice-Chairs of the Board. I
    request the fol-

    [[Page 1461]]

    lowing Administration officials to serve on this Board: the Secretary of
    the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the
    Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
    Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of
    Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the
    Secretary of Education, the Administrator of the Environmental
    Protection Agency, the Director of National Drug Control Policy, the
    Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Director of the
    Office of Management and Budget, and the Chair of the Council of
    Economic Advisers.
        The first task of the Board is to assist in the successful
    implementation of the Administration's empowerment zone legislation,
    Subchapter C of Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
    1993, Public Law 103-66, ``Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities,
    and Rural Development Investment Areas.'' This Act authorizes the
    Secretaries of HUD and Agriculture to designate certain localities as
    empowerment zones and enterprise communities, thus enabling them to
    receive certain Federal funds and other benefits from the Federal
    Government.
        Other programs, old and new, are similarly beneficial to local
    communities. These programs, however, form an overly complex,
    categorical, unworkable, and ineffective response to the needs of
    distressed communities. I hereby direct the Board to review these
    programs in order to ascertain how we can make the entire Federal effort
    more responsive to the needs of distressed communities. In addition,
    with respect to the empowerment zones and enterprise communities, I
    direct the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the
    Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary
    of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human
    Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary
    of Transportation, the Secretary of Education, the Administrator of the
    Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of National Drug Control
    Policy, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to
    (1) identify, within 15 days of this directive, existing programs that
    further the goals and objectives set forth in this memorandum and the
    Act and (2) make available, to the extent permitted by law, funds from
    those programs for use in implementing the strategic plans of the
    designated empowerment zones and community enterprises.
        In order to advise and assist me regarding issues that relate to
    community development and empowerment, I request that each Board
    member--
        (a) Provide me with recommendations, consistent with Section 13301
    of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (``OBRA'' or ``the
    Act''), on the criteria to be used for selection and designation of
    empowerment zones and enterprise communities, as set forth in Section
    13301 of the Act;
        (b) Identify additional legislative mandates that further the goals
    and objectives set forth in this memorandum and the Act and, where
    appropriate, develop for my consideration recommendations for further
    action;
        (c) Identify legislative mandates that may be impeding State, local,
    and tribal governments from meeting the goals and objectives set forth
    in this memorandum and the Act, and, where appropriate, develop for my
    consideration recommendations for further action; and
        (d) Consult with the Board regarding exemptions from regulatory
    mandates for which the member agency has jurisdiction and inform his or
    her decisions regarding any such exemptions with the recommendations of
    the Board.
        In addition, I direct each of the agencies to cooperate fully with
    the Chair, the Vice-Chairs, and the Secretaries of HUD and Agriculture
    in assisting designated zones and enterprise communities in successfully
    implementing their strategic plans under Section 13301 of the Act. This
    interagency effort shall, among other things, coordinate Federal
    assistance and support within each empowerment zone and enterprise
    community.
        In order to meet the goals and objectives set forth above, I also
    request the Secretary of HUD and the Secretary of Agriculture to consult
    with the Board regarding (1) the designation, under Section 13301 of the
    Act, of empowerment zones and enterprise communities and (2) possible
    revocation of designations, as set forth in Section 13301 of the Act.
        Finally, I direct the Secretaries of HUD, Agriculture, and HHS (in
    consultation with the Board) to take, by November 1, 1993, the
    appropriate regulatory measures to ensure that the use of all Title XX
    grants awarded under the Act meets the criteria of Section 13761 of the
    Act, including, specifically, that portion of Sub-

    [[Page 1462]]

    section C that requires, among other things, localities to use Title XX
    grants (1) in accordance with the strategic plans approved by the
    Secretaries of HUD and Agriculture, (2) for activities that directly
    benefit the residents within the designated empowerment zones and
    enterprise communities, and (3) to promote economic independence for
    low-income families and individuals.
        With the Board members' commitment to achieving community
    empowerment and to providing our local communities with a single Federal
    forum, we will be able to assist distressed communities and American
    families all across urban and rural America in obtaining economic self-
    sufficiency.

                                                          William J. Clinton