    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 10, 1999]
    [Pages 2266-2268]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum on the Arkansas Delta Circuit Rider Pilot Project
    December 10, 1999

    Memorandum for the Secretary of Agriculture, the Attorney General, the
    Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
    Education, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human
    Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary
    of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of
    Transportation, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Administrator of
    the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of the Small
    Business Administration

    Subject: Arkansas Delta Circuit Rider Pilot Project

        The Delta region of the United States is rich in historical,
    archeological, geological, natural, and cultural assets. The Delta
    region also has tremendous human capital in the people who live there
    and hold strong hopes for the future. The Delta's human, natural, and
    cultural resources have the potential to contribute significantly to the
    region's future.
        Despite great progress in a wide range of economic and social areas,
    the Delta region, particularly the Delta communities of Arkansas, still
    often lag behind the rest of the country. Substandard housing,
    inadequate transportation systems, limited access to capital, low
    educational levels, and lack of adequate health care have hindered
    progress and caused hardship. While nationwide unemployment levels have
    fallen during my Administration, the Arkansas Delta communities still
    suffer from disproportionately high unemployment. Furthermore, in the
    Delta counties of Arkansas, only 55 percent of the adult population has
    a high school diploma.
        While Governor of Arkansas, I chaired the Lower Mississippi Delta
    Development Commission. In 1990, the Commission submitted an action plan
    to address the economic development needs of the region. This action
    plan has served as a guidepost during my Administration for creating
    further opportunities for investment in the region.
        During my Administration, we have continued to provide resources to
    the entire Delta region and to the Delta communities of Arkansas to
    promote job creation, improve transportation and housing, and address
    environmental needs. In 1998, the Department of Transportation organized
    a meeting with local Delta leaders at

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    which ten Federal agencies pledged to work together to coordinate a
    Government-wide review and assessment of the Delta; their review
    resulted in the recent publication of The Mississippi Delta: Beyond 2000
    (Interim Report). My Administration has designated two rural Enterprise
    Zones (EZ) and seven Enterprise Communities (EC) in the Delta, including
    two ECs in Arkansas that receive assistance from the Department of
    Agriculture (USDA)--one in Mississippi County and one in East Central
    Arkansas. As part of the EZ/EC program, these communities have engaged
    in extensive community planning and have gained a number of tax
    incentives to promote investment opportunities. The USDA provides
    significant resources to the Delta in grants and loans through its rural
    housing and business programs. The Department of Commerce has provided
    over $100 million to the Delta from 1993 to mid-1999. Approximately 1100
    low-income Arkansas homes were weatherized last year through Department
    of Energy funding. The Department of the Interior is assisting in the
    development of the Arkansas Delta Heritage Trail, a new quasi-State park
    composed of a 78-mile rail corridor that traverses some of the richest
    natural and cultural resources of the State. The Department of
    Transportation has provided approximately $140 million to complete
    highway reconstruction, surfacing, widening, and other projects in Delta
    counties. However, Federal funding alone is not sufficient to revitalize
    the Delta region. As part of my July 1999 ``New Markets'' trip to
    Clarksdale, Mississippi, I announced nearly $15 million in new private
    investments in the Enterprise Corporation for the Delta, a nonprofit
    organization that uses Federal grants to leverage private investment in
    business.
        Other Federal efforts seek to empower the Delta communities by
    providing information and assistance directly in the communities where
    they are needed. The USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency
    provide significant on-the-ground technical assistance to rural
    communities nationwide through circuit rider programs for both drinking
    water and wastewater. The Small Business Administration (SBA) also
    regularly engages in active outreach activities in the Arkansas Delta
    Region, where SBA staff meet with small business entrepreneurs in the
    field. These programs have been very successful in assisting communities
    and individuals, but have been limited in the number of agencies that
    participate and the topics that are covered.
        To build on the success of these circuit rider programs and to
    address the great need expressed by Delta communities for technical
    assistance, I am expanding my Administration's efforts in Arkansas'
    Delta communities by creating a pilot Arkansas Delta Circuit Rider
    program to provide, for the first time, a concentrated, coordinated
    effort by 14 Federal agencies to address needs in areas such as housing,
    economic development, transportation, environment, tourism, cultural
    resources, infrastructure technology, education, and health care. The
    Arkansas Delta Circuit Rider program will bring the expertise and
    resources of the Federal Government directly to communities that need
    assistance by providing a more integrated Federal response across
    several agencies and reaching out to the communities to search for
    solutions. Accordingly, I direct each of you to work with the USDA as
    lead agency in the development of a pilot program to be based on a
    circuit rider concept with the goals of helping Delta communities (1)
    systematically identify needs and priorities in economic and community
    development; (2) draft strategic plans to leverage both private and
    public resources for such development; and (3) implement their plans.
    This initiative should forge a coalition of Federal, State, local,
    private business, nonprofit, and other interested parties in meeting the
    unique needs of each community. The investment of resources by each
    agency will vary depending on the specific needs of each community but
    should include providing information; conducting traveling seminars;
    deploying staff; and staffing regional offices.
        I further direct you to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding
    (MOU) no later than March 1, 2000, with the specifics of the pilot
    program, including an implementation framework and schedule; mechanisms
    to assemble the Circuit Rider team after receiving a community's request
    for assistance; and details of the types of assistance to be provided.
    This MOU should establish the Arkansas Delta communities Circuit Rider
    pilot program for a minimum period of 5 years in order to assist
    communities in addressing both long-term and short-term needs.
        As we look to the new millennium, we should make every effort to
    ensure that no areas of this country are left behind. This pilot
    project, taken together and in full coordination with the

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    other resources devoted to community and economic development, will help
    to build capacity in the communities of the Arkansas Delta and will
    empower the area's residents to achieve their full potential.

                                                          William J. Clinton