    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [August 5, 1999]
    [Pages 1386-1387]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Proposed Legislation Advancing the New Markets Initiative
    August 5, 1999

        Not long ago I invited CEO's and other business leaders to join me
    in visiting new markets across the country to highlight economic
    opportunities and to emphasize the need for greater

    [[Page 1387]]

    investment in underserved rural and inner-city areas. I am pleased to
    announce that today bipartisan legislation based upon my new markets
    initiative is being introduced in both the House and the Senate. This
    legislation expands upon the innovative approach to community
    empowerment that Vice President Gore and I have pioneered for nearly 7
    years.
        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. Through
    new tax incentives and investment tools, this legislation will help to
    attract equity capital that entrepreneurs and businesses need to start
    and expand enterprises and create new jobs in low and moderate income
    communities. These tools will help corporate America to develop new
    markets in places where major corporations have rarely, if ever, looked
    before. It's good for business; it's good for America's growth; and it's
    the right thing to do.
        I am encouraged by the bipartisan support for the new markets
    initiative, as demonstrated by the lead sponsorship of this legislation
    by both Democrats and Republicans. We will continue to work with
    Congress to pass this new markets legislation into law. At a time of
    remarkable economic prosperity, we need to ensure that no community or
    person is left behind.