THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE'S
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Iowa
EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
Unemployment Down to 2.1%: The unemployment rate in Iowa has declined from 4.2% to 2.1% since 1993.
231,200 New Jobs: 231,200 new jobs have been created in Iowa since 1993 -- an average of 33,834 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 20,025 jobs per year during the previous administration.
211,700 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 211,700 new private sector jobs have been created in Iowa--an average of 30,980 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 17,825 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration.
32,400 New Manufacturing Jobs: 32,400 manufacturing jobs have been created in Iowa since 1993 -- an average of 4,741 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of only 425 manufacturing jobs were created each year during the previous administration.
18,700 New Construction Jobs: 18,700 construction jobs have been created in Iowa since 1993 -- an average of 2,737 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of only 1,800 construction jobs were created each year during the previous administration.
64,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 6,000 Iowa workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage--from $4.25 to $4.75 -- October 1, 1996. They, along with about 58,000 more, received an additional raise-- from $4.75 to $5.15 -- on Sept. 1, 1997.
Business Failures Down 18.6% Per Year: Business failures in Iowa have dropped an average of 18.6% per year since 1993, after increasing 18% per year during the previous 12 years [Oct. 98 data].
A $500 Child Tax Credit to Help Families Raising Children: To help make it easier for families to raise their children, the balanced budget included a $500 per-child tax credit for children under 17. Thanks to President Clinton, the balanced budget delivers a child tax credit to 312,000 families in Iowa.
Home Ownership Has Increased in Iowa: Home ownership in Iowa has increased from 69.2% to 72.7% since the fourth quarter of 1993.
Over $25,000 of Reduced Federal Debt for Every Family of Four: The national debt will be $1.7 trillion lower in FY99 than projected in 1993 -- that's $25,000 less debt for each family of four in Iowa this year.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Over 7,000 Children in Head Start: 7,010 Iowa children were enrolled in Head Start in 1999. In FY00, Iowa will receive $39.7 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $19.5 million over 1993.
More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Iowa's Schools: Thanks to the Class Size Reduction Initiative, Iowa received $9.4 million in 1999 to hire about 243 new, well-prepared public school teachers and reduce class size in the early grades. President Clinton secured funding for a second installment of the plan, giving Iowa an additional $10.2 million in 2000.
Nearly $4 Million in Goals 2000 Funding: This year [FY00], Iowa receives $3.9 million in Goals 2000 funding. This money is used to raise academic achievement by raising academic standards, increasing parental and community involvement in education, expanding the use of computers and technology in classrooms, and supporting high-quality teacher professional development. [Education Department, 12/3/99]
$2.7 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY00], Iowa receives $2.7 million for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund which helps communities and the private sector ensure that every student is equipped with the computer literacy skills needed for the 21st century.
$54.2 Million for Students Most in Need: Iowa will receive $54.2 million in Title I Grants (to Local Educational Agencies) providing extra help in the basics for students most in need, particularly communities and schools with high concentrations of children in low-income families [FY00]. This includes over $925,000 in accountability grants, to help states and school districts turn around the worst performing schools and hold them accountable for results.
$87 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY00], Iowa will receive $87 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college, benefiting 45,678 Iowa students.
Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: The FY00 budget includes a significant expansion of the Federal Work Study program. Iowa will receive $12.4 million in Work-Study funding in 2000 to help Iowa students work their way through college.
Over 800 Have Served in Iowa through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 846 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in Iowa's schools, hospitals, neighborhoods or parks. [through 11/98]
Tuition Tax Credits in Balanced Budget Open the Doors of College and Promote Lifelong Learning: The balanced budget included both President Clinton's $1,500 HOPE Scholarship to help make the first two years of college as universal as a high school diploma and a Lifetime Learning Tax Credit for college juniors, seniors, graduate students and working Americans pursuing lifelong learning to upgrade their skills. This 20% tax credit will be applied to the first $5,000 of tuition and fees through 2002 and to the first $10,000 thereafter. 67,000 students in Iowa will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 82,000 students in Iowa will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 estimate]
Expanded Job Training to Iowa's Dislocated Workers: Thanks to President Clinton, the FY99 budget includes a significant expansion in the dislocated worker program. Iowa will receive $5.4 million in 1999 to help 3,200 of Iowa's dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible.
FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE
670 More Police: The President's 1994 Crime Bill has funded 670 new police officers to date in communities across Iowa. [through 11/99]
Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in Iowa, the Clinton Administration has awarded a Drug Court grant to the community of Des Moines. The Administration had previously awarded a grant to the Iowa community of Council Bluffs. Drug courts use the coercive power of the criminal justice system to combine drug testing, sanctions, supervision and treatment to push nonviolent, drug-abusing offenders to stop using drugs and committing crimes.
Over $2 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, Iowa received $2.4 million in federal funds in FY98 to establish more women's shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims' services.
Over $624,000 in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY99, Iowa received over $624,000 in HHS's Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
$3.6 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Iowa's Schools: Iowa receives $3.6 million in FY00 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.
MOVING IOWANS FROM WELFARE TO WORK
43,587 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 43,587 fewer people on welfare in Iowa now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a 43% decrease. [through 6/99]
Child Support Collections Up 94%: Child support collections have increased by $90 million' or 94% -- in Iowa since FY92. [through FY98]
Encouraging Responsible Choices' Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Iowa: Since 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have supported innovative and promising teen pregnancy prevention strategies, with significant components of the strategy becoming law in the 1996 Personal Responsibility Act. The law requires unmarried minor parents to stay in school and live at home or in a supervised setting; encourages "second chance homes" to provide teen parents with the skills and support they need; and provides $50 million a year in new funding for state abstinence education activities. Efforts are making a difference, adolescent pregnancy rates and teen abortion rates are declining. And between 1991 and 1997, teen birth rates declined 16.2% in Iowa.
$26.3 Million for Iowa Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999, Iowa received $16.1 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants (the state matched $8.1 million in funding), helping Iowa welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, $2.1 million in competitive grants were awarded to Iowa localities to support innovative welfare-to-work strategies. Part of the President's comprehensive efforts to move recipients from welfare to work, this funding was included in the $3 billion welfare to work fund in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
Helping People Get to Work: Through the Access to Jobs initiative, the Clinton-Gore Administration is working with communities across the country to design transportation solutions to help welfare recipients and other low-income workers get to and from work. Des Moines, Waterloo, Sioux City, and Cedar Rapids have received a total of $996,800 this year to fund innovative transit projects.
INVESTING IN IOWA'S HEALTH
Health Care for Nearly 10,000 Uninsured Iowa Children: In 1997, President Clinton passed the largest single investment in health care for children since 1965 -- an unprecedented $24 billion over five years to cover as many as five million children throughout the nation. This investment guarantees the full range of benefits that children need to grow up strong and healthy. Two million children nationwide have health care coverage thanks to the President's plan, including 9,795 in Iowa. [HHS, Health Care Financing Administration, FY99 SCHIP enrollment data]
Helping Over 64,000 Iowa Women and Children with WIC: The Clinton Administration is committed to full funding in the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). In FY99, Iowa received $34.4 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 64,182 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, 6,000 more than in 1994. [through 8/99]
More Toddlers Are Being Immunized: As a result of the President's 1993 Childhood Immunization Initiative, childhood immunization rates have reached an historic high. According to the CDC, 90% or more of America's toddlers received the most critical doses of each of the routinely recommended vaccines in 1996, 1997, and again in 1998 --surpassing the President's 1993 goal. In Iowa in 1998, 95% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 92% received the vaccine for polio; 92% received the vaccine for measles, and 94% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis.
Increased Funding for Ryan White by $6.0 Million: Between 1993 and 1998, Iowa communities received $6.0 million in Ryan White formula and other HIV/AIDS program funds. This funding provides people living with HIV and AIDS medical and support services, including the AIDS Drug Assistance Program which helps those without insurance obtain much needed prescription drugs. [HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, 12/98]
Tobacco Plan Will Cut Smoking and Premature Deaths by 40% in Iowa: The Clinton Administration's tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 40% in Iowa by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 31,500 of Iowa's youth will be kept from smoking and 10,100 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99]
1,420,000 Americans in Iowa Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if Iowa enacted all the protections in the Patients' Bill of Rights, 1,420,000 people in Iowa cannot be assured they have the comprehensive patient protections recommended by the President's Advisory Commission. This is because the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) may preempt state-enacted protections. That is why the President has called on Congress to pass a federally enforceable patients' bill of rights so that everyone enrolled in managed care may have a basic set of protections. Notably, 700,000 Iowa women are in ERISA health plans and are therefore not necessarily protected. Women are particularly vulnerable without these protections because they are greater users of health care services, they make three-quarters of the health care decisions for their families, and they have specific health care needs addressed by a patients' bill of rights.
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
8 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed 8 Superfund toxic waste cleanups in Iowa. The sites are located in Des Moines, Hospers, West Point, Fairfield, Mason City, Maurice, Kellogg, and Charles City [through 6/99]. This is double the number of sites cleaned up during the previous two administrations combined.
$13 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY99], thanks to President Clinton, Iowa will receive $11.7 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to provide low-interest loans to municipalities to build, improve, and prevent pollution of drinking water systems. In addition, Iowa will receive $1.2 million in Public Water Supply Supervision grants to help monitor drinking water quality and enforce health standards. Revitalizing Brownfields in Iowa: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to the Iowa communities of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, and Coralville for environmental clean-up and economic revitalization. This project is intended to jump-start local clean-up efforts by providing funds to return unproductive, abandoned, contaminated urban properties to productive use.
SPEARHEADING URBAN RENEWAL EFFORTS
Revitalizing Iowa's Communities: Des Moines was designated an Enterprise Community in December, 1994 and was awarded $3 million to create more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity for city residents.
Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 1,700 To 2,000 New Affordable Housing Units in Iowa Over the Next 5 Years: Last year, the President and Vice President pushed for a 40-percent expansion in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. This year, the President and Vice President will try again to enact tax incentives to develop affordable housing. In Iowa alone, this proposal would mean an additional 1,700 - 2,000 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years.
PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF
$298 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Iowa has received $298 million in disaster relief. This includes $31.2 million in assistance to those suffering from severe storms, flooding and tornadoes in 1998. [FEMA, 12/98]
EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
Over $1.3 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Iowa has received over $1.3 billion in federal highway aid. Included in this funding is $28.2 million for emergency relief in response to natural disasters and $452,824 for scenic byways. These funds have helped generate 56,930 jobs. [through FY98]
Over $124 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY98 Iowa received $124,620,000 in AIP funds to help build and renovate airports, and, when necessary, to provide funds for noise abatement to improve the quality of life for residents who live near airports.
Over $124 Million in Transit Funds: Iowa has received over $124 million in FTA funds since 1993.
Saving Lives and Property: In 1997 the United States Coast Guard saved 25 lives and $15.6 million of property in Iowa.
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