[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 19 (Monday, May 17, 1999)]
[Pages 861-867]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion on New Markets in Atlanta, Georgia

May 11, 1999

    The President. Thank you. Well, first, Mayor Campbell, Mayor 
Jackson, Mayor Young, my friends, it's wonderful to be back in Atlanta. 
I will be very brief because I want to spend most of my time listening 
to our panelists, but I'd like to try to put what the

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mayor has said into the perspective of what we're trying to do with our 
administration. And I have with me our Housing and Urban Development 
Secretary Andrew Cuomo; our Small Business Administrator Aida Alvarez; 
my Deputy Chief of Staff Maria Echaveste. We had other members of the 
Cabinet with us earlier today, along with my National Economic Adviser, 
Gene Sperling, who helped to put this whole event today together.
    But let me try to tell you why I'm here. When I became President in 
1993 I had traveled around America and I had seen with my own eyes for 
many years, as a Governor and then as a candidate for President, people 
able to start businesses in places that had high unemployment or low 
income or other economic problems, if they just had access to capital 
and they had the right technical support, marketing support, loan 
guarantees or whatever.
    So when we started our administration we put into our first economic 
plan this whole idea of empowerment zones which would give tax credits, 
loan guarantees, technical assistance and direct investment, and 
community development financial institutions which would make direct 
loans to people who otherwise might not have access to them.
    We've also been greatly aided in this national endeavor by some of 
our own financial institutions, and I think the leading one plainly has 
been NationsBank in terms of what you have done to try to loan money to 
people who couldn't get it otherwise.
    Now, after 6 years, watching these empowerment zones work, we can 
see examples like this. But what I want to say to you now is, I think 
it's important that we try to take this example to the whole Nation. Our 
economy now is in the best shape it's been in at least a generation; 
some people think it's the best economy America has ever had. We have 
the lowest recorded rates of unemployment since we've been keeping 
separate statistics for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. We 
have record numbers of new small businesses starting in each of the last 
6 years. We've got the lowest peacetime unemployment since 1957.
    Now, that's all good, but we also know that we have neighborhoods in 
big cities, we have small- and medium-sized cities, we have rural areas 
and Native American reservations where there has been almost no new 
investment, almost no new businesses, almost no new jobs. So I am trying 
to highlight, first of all, for the American people, you and people like 
you all over the country, so people will know this can be done.
    Secondly, I'm trying to build support for an initiative I have 
before the Congress now, which is called the new markets initiative, 
designed to give tax credits to people who put equity money, investment 
money, into low per capita income areas, high unemployment areas in our 
country, and to provide loan guarantees, up to two-thirds of the total 
investment for people who will do that, and to increase our community 
development loaning all over the country, not just in the empowerment 
zones, because I believe we ought not to leave anybody behind when we go 
into the 21st century. I think that every American who is willing to 
work ought to have a chance to do it.
    And so, that's why I'm here. I want people to see you and believe it 
can be done in their neighborhoods, in their communities, rural or 
urban. I want to listen to you, and I want to try to build support.
    The last point I want to make is, in July I am going to take 2 or 3 
days and go to places in America that need this help, and try to 
highlight for the American people in the midst of all our prosperity 
both the obligation and the opportunity we have to do better. And I'm 
going to ask the American business leaders to help me. And a lot of 
these folks came with me today from all over the country. I just want to 
mention who is here. They're all the leaders of their various 
organizations.
    Duane Ackerman from Bell South and Dan Amos from AFLAC, both of 
Georgia; Don Carty of American Airlines; Emma Chappell of the United 
Bank of Philadelphia; Jon Corzine of Goldman Sachs; Ted Gifford of Bank 
of Boston; Martin Grass of Rite Aid; Dan Hesse, AT&T Wireless; Richard 
Huber, Aetna; Debra Lee of BET; Leo Mullin of Delta Airlines, another 
home base here; Frank Newman of Bankers Trust; Maceo Sloan of Sloan 
Financial Group; Sy Sternberg of New York Life; and Sandy Weill, head of 
Citigroup. I'd like to ask all them to stand.

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They are giving a day of their lives to try to help replicate this 
elsewhere, and we thank them. [Applause]
    Now, that's enough of our talk. We want to hear from you. Who would 
like to go first? I also want to say, I've got some of this good coffee 
from the Cameroon, and I gave myself a refill on the way out here; I 
hope you'll forgive me. And I had a little of that sweet potato 
cheesecake, and I have lifted things from almost every entrepreneur 
here. This is a beautiful market, and I want to thank all of those who 
had anything to do with it. This is something the entire city can be 
proud of, and especially because of its roots to the rich history of 
20th century Atlanta. So I'm very pleased.
    But I would like to hear from all of you now. Who would like to go 
first and talk about what your experience was, how you got your business 
started, or what progress has been made here? Would you like to start?

[Jason Slaughter, president and chief executive officer, S&W 
International Food Specialties, thanked the President and stated his 
belief that, if you give people opportunities, they will do well. He 
explained how his business had been helped by the empowerment zones, the 
welfare to work program, and the Small Business Administration and how 
his business had grown from a $150,000 company with 12 employees to a 
$13 million company with over 60 employees in 3\1/2\ years.]

    The President. Give him another hand. That was great. [Applause] You 
were great. Jason, you might be interested to know that earlier today 
when we were meeting in the White House a lot of these business 
leaders--and many of them have thousands and thousands of employees, but 
they repeatedly said to us, ``Look, what we've got to do is to get 
capital out there to folks. They need that more than anything else. If 
they can get that first investment money--because you can't borrow it 
all unless you're able to put something up--that will make a big 
difference.''
    And you're living proof of it. The way I figure it, if you can keep 
growing at this rate, by the time I'm ready to draw Social Security you 
will be a billionaire, and you can hire me to sort of work in my off 
hours. [Laughter] I accept right now in advance. I'll be here. You get 
ready. That's great.
    Would you like to talk a little bit about the role of your bank here 
and what you're trying to do?

[Sally Adams Daniels from NationsBank stated that the bank had opened 
its community development operation in 1993. Creating partnerships with 
local community development corporations, the bank had redeveloped over 
4,200 units of affordable housing in Atlanta.]

    The President. Let me say, many years ago, before I ever became 
President, my wife and I had a long talk one night with Hugh McColl 
about investment in low income areas in America. And we told him--we 
talked about the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which basically was the 
pioneering bank in the Third World, starting very poor people out in 
businesses and actually making good money doing that.
    And both Hillary and I at various times in the last, probably 10 
years, have had other conversations with him about it and then with 
others involved with NationsBank. But I was particularly pleased that 
not long after you announced your merger plans that the bank's 10-year 
plan for reinvestment in communities, including direct loans to provide 
initial capital to people who otherwise wouldn't have it, was announced.
    And I want to tell you I very much appreciate that. I think it will 
make a huge difference. These people prove that they need a hand up, and 
they do right well if they get it.
    Vivian, would you like to talk about your experience?

[Vivian Reid, owner of the Kaffee Shop, described how she and family 
members had started the coffee shop and how her business had thrived, in 
part, because new market initiatives had provided others in the area 
with the means to support each other.]

    The President. Thank you. Let me say, I think you hit on an 
important point, because I can just say, I was really looking forward to 
coming down here because I've always loved Atlanta and I love the 
history of the place. But when I got here, I saw a lot

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of things I didn't know were here, so I think you do need a marketing 
plan that tells people what it's like now and where you're going with 
it.
    You know, you had so many different kinds of just food 
establishments, just different kinds. And the other thing that impressed 
me--you talked about the family businesses--the other thing that 
impressed me was the diversity of people working here. You have a lot of 
Asian American families here. You have--there is a lady back there who 
is in a food store who told me she is from Ghana, and she said 
``Aquava''--when I saw the Ghana word for welcome, which I first heard 
about a half a million people in Accra--and I think this is something 
that ought to be highlighted, that there are people here from all over 
the world, so that you get the best of Atlanta's past and a picture of 
Atlanta's future here. And I think there is a way for you to market it 
that would even increase the rate of growth that the merchants are 
enjoying.
    That's what I'm going to do when I get out of the White House, go 
around and give people advice like this.
    Go ahead. Ken.

[Kenneth Bleakley, executive director, North Yards Business Park, stated 
that his organization wanted to try to create more jobs in the inner 
city as one of the legacies of the Olympic Games and described how with 
the help of the empowerment zone program and environmental funding from 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, they had successfully 
funded the program.]

    The President. Give him a hand. That was great. [Applause] I would 
like to emphasize just one of the points that Ken made. And that is the 
funds the Federal Government put into environmental cleanup. Most people 
don't ever think about this as an economic development issue. But one of 
the things that has retarded the comeback of many areas in our cities 
are so-called brownfields, areas that have been subject to some measure 
of environmental pollution and areas, therefore, that can't get new 
investment and new support and can't even very often get permits to do 
what people want to do unless the cleanup is done.
    But if the people who want to put the plan in or the business in 
have to bear the cleanup costs, then the financing doesn't work out. 
There's no reasonable way they can make the economics of their business 
work in the early years. So this is something the Vice President pointed 
out to me fairly early on in our work together, because he was heading 
this empowerment task force that we had. And we've spent a lot of time 
and effort trying to give communities funds to clean up the brownfields, 
because--and it's just breathtaking what we've found happens, the way it 
sort of cascades on itself--the money. And I appreciate what you're 
doing.
    Mr. Bleakley. Thank you.
    The President. And congratulations, to you, too. That's great.
    Now, this is my cheesecake lady who destroyed my diet today, and I 
loved every bite of it. Do you want to tell us a little about your 
experience here and how you got started and what you're doing?

[Sonya Jones, owner of the Sweet Auburn Bread Company, stated the 
empowerment zone agencies were very aggressive in helping clients get 
projects off the ground. She described the problem she had attracting 
qualified people to her business, citing the need to offer them benefits 
to attract them.]

    The President. Let me ask you this--are the principal needs you have 
to attract and keep good employees child care and health care?
    Ms. Jones. Definitely.
    The President. Those are the principal ones?
    Ms. Jones. Yes.
    The President. One more than the other?
    Ms. Jones. They're right together, actually, I would say.
    The President. I do believe this year, at the end of the year when 
Congress has to pass the budget, I still think we have quite a good 
chance to pass our health care initiative--I mean our child care 
initiative, which would provide more tax credits and more direct 
subsidies for people with modest incomes to afford quality child care. 
And one of the things--there must be a child care center very close to 
this market with all these

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people down here. If there's not, that's something that ought to be 
looked at. But when you get a certain number of employees in the market 
and then people near here, you may be able to quite economically 
establish something for the neighborhood if there's not.
    But if we pass this program, people like the people who would get a 
job working for you will have access to a lot more financial help to pay 
for that child care.
    On the health care side, I really believe the only places that I 
know that have been really, really successful at this are people that 
have offered pool coverage to small businesses so, in effect, both the 
employers and the employees can buy health care at the same cost, more 
or less, per person that some of these large employers can. I don't 
think there is presently available another alternative to that, and so I 
think it's--except for when some States allow people who make relatively 
low incomes to buy into the Medicare/Medicaid program for--you know, 
they pay something but not the full range.
    Those are the only two options that I'm aware of. But if there's not 
such a pooled arrangement here in this area, that's the next thing you 
ought to try to get the empowerment zone to organize. They can't do it 
until they have a certain number of employees, because it doesn't work 
economically. But once you cross a certain threshold with a certain 
profile for the employees, and a lot of them are young restaurant 
workers and healthy--you know, for example, you can do this and make the 
economics work. So that's something I think the empowerment zone can do.
    Mr. Aderhold, do you want to say something there?

[Mr. John E. Aderhold, chairman, Aderhold Properties, Inc., pointed out 
that the community did have a day care center along the lines that 
President had discussed but noted that it operated on a small scale and 
needed to be expanded.]

    The President. You know, it's very interesting. One of the things 
that--I saw a study of Georgia about--oh, this was 6-8 months ago, we 
were looking at the impact of the welfare reform law. And at the time, 
one of the big problems was that Georgia was growing jobs like crazy, 
but most of them were growing were in the suburbs and most of the people 
who were losing their welfare benefits lived in the cities, and there 
wasn't an adequate transportation link.
    Here's something that's been done here that has the potential to 
grow where are all of you are working folks in the urban areas, and 
there may be some way that the State's welfare reform program--and I 
think the person who ran it at least for Governor Miller is here--I 
don't know if the commissioner is here or not, but he was out at the 
airport--but there may be some way that they can use some of the money 
that they still have from welfare reform to subsidize child care centers 
in the city of Atlanta around here.
    Because when we--when I signed the welfare reform bill, one of the 
things we did was we gave every State the amount of money they were 
receiving in February of 1994 when welfare caseloads were at an all-time 
high. Now, they have dropped more than at any period in history. They're 
almost 50 percent lower than they were in February of '94. The State 
still has that dollar amount. So they've got the same amount of money 
they had then, minus inflation, which hasn't been very much. So it may 
be that you could go there and try to get them to help the empowerment 
zone locate child care here for you.
    Mr. Aderhold?

[Mr. John Aderhold described how the Fulton Cotton Mill project had 
progressed, renovating 12 acres of dilapidated territory and converting 
it into an area which was helping to draw people back into the city.]

    The President. Well, thank you for taking a chance on it. And I 
think that, if someone like you is willing to take a chance of that 
magnitude, at least the modest amounts of money that the Government put 
up is the least we can do to share the early risk.

[Mr. Aderhold then added that the way the city cooperated in dispensing 
the funds was key to the success and thanked Mayor Campbell for his 
assistance.]

    The President. Thank you. [Applause] Yes, give them a hand. That's 
great.

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    I didn't mention this earlier, but we are having, 2 weeks from 
today--maybe, and maybe it starts 2 weeks from yesterday; but either 2 
weeks from yesterday or today, we're having our annual empowerment zone 
and enterprise community national convention that the Vice President 
hosts, and we're doing it in south Texas this year, in a small town, 
rural empowerment zone area we had down there. I think it's in McAllen. 
And it's a great place to go if you've never been there.
    And we're going to all gather down there, and, Mayor, if either 
you're going, or whoever is going from Atlanta representing you--I'm 
sure you'll be represented there--I think the point that John just made 
is one that ought to be made there. Because we have now had enough 
experience with these empowerment zones that we can see differences in 
the rate of effectiveness. And I think this is a point that ought to be 
hammered home.
    So if either you go, or if you will instruct whoever is going on 
behalf of Atlanta, to make that point, I'd appreciate it.
    Tricia?
    Tricia Donegan. Hi, welcome. Thanks for coming to Atlanta. You're 
the first guy to get me off a day of work so--[laughter]--since we've 
opened.
    The President. Glad to do it.

[Tricia Donegan, owner of the Eureka Restaurant, described how she had 
started her restaurant business in 1995, how the assistance of the 
Federal funds helped get it off the ground, and how it was now expanding 
into other empowerment zones in the city.]

    The President. Thank you, that was great. I said this morning when I 
was meeting with all the CEO's, I don't think any of us ever conceived 
this as a charitable operation. We thought that if we could build a 
community where everybody had a chance to make a living, that it would 
help all the rest of us, that we would all be stronger if people who 
were willing to work and had skills and had gifts to give to the 
community had a chance to do it and be paid an appropriate amount for 
it.
    I think that this is a--it is really--America is very good at 
creating jobs. And compared to almost every other country in the world 
with an advanced economy, we've got a very low unemployment rate. But we 
still have a problem when places have been down for a long time, going 
back and getting that economic opportunity there and bringing people 
into the circle of success.
    And if we can't do it now when the economy is good, we'll never get 
around to doing it. So that's why I wanted people to see and hear all of 
your stories and your philosophy and see how this can work, because this 
is what we would like to do in every community in America where it is 
not now being done.
    Mr. Mayor?

[Mayor Bill Campbell thanked the President for bringing the business 
leaders to see how the inner city was flourishing and stated that the 
President's urban policy, whether the COPS program or the empowerment 
zones, had effectively contributed to the city's growth and well being.]

    The President. Let's give all our participants a hand here. They're 
great. Thank you. Great job.

Note: The roundtable began at 2:55 p.m. at the Sweet Auburn Market. In 
his remarks, the President referred to Mayor Bill Campbell, and former 
mayors Maynard Jackson, and Andrew Young of Atlanta, GA; F. Duane 
Ackerman, chairman and chief executive officer, Bell South; Daniel P. 
Amos, president and chief executive officer, AFLAC, Inc.; Donald J. 
Carty, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, American 
Airlines; Emma Chappell, chairman, president, and chief executive 
officer, United Bank of Philadelphia; Jon Stevens Corzine, chairman, 
Goldman Sachs; Charles K. Gifford, chairman and chief executive officer, 
Bank of Boston; Martin Grass, chairman and chief executive officer, Rite 
Aid Corp.; Dan Hesse, president and chief executive officer, AT&T 
Wireless; Richard Huber, chairman, president, and chief executive 
officer, Aetna, Inc.; Debra Lee, president and chief operating officer, 
BET Holdings; Leo Mullin, president, chairman, and chief executive 
officer, Delta Airlines; Frank Newman, chairman and chief executive 
officer, Bankers Trust; Maceo Sloan, chairman, president, and chief 
executive officer, Sloan Financial Group; Sy Sternberg, chairman, 
president, and chief executive officer, New York Life; and Sandy Weill, 
chairman and co-chief executive officer, Citigroup; Hugh McColl, 
chairman and chief executive officer, Bank of America Corp.;

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and former Gov. Zell Miller of Georgia. The transcript made available by 
the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of the 
roundtable participants.