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DELTA VISION, DELTA VOICES: MISSISSIPPI DELTA BEYOND 2000
President Clinton and Vice President Gore:
Highlighting the Future Economic Development of the Delta Region
May 10, 2000
BUILDING ON 7-YEARS OF EFFORT TO BRING PROSPERITY TO THE DELTA REGION,PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE WILL PARTICIPATE IN A NATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF THE DELTA. Today, in Arlington, Virginia,
President Clinton and Vice President Gore will kick off Delta Vision,
Delta Voices: The Mississippi Delta Beyond 2000, a two-day national
conference to promote economic and community development in the
Mississippi Delta region. The bipartisan conference -- the largest of
its kind ever assembled -- will bring together over 750 people,
including Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, state governors, and
leaders and constituents from the Delta region, to discuss ways to
ensure that the region shares in the nation's unprecedented prosperity.
The President will release a new report by an interagency task force on
recommendations for the future of the Mississippi Delta, announce new
infrastructure and community investments in the region, and urge
Congress to pass the Delta Regional Authority Act. The Vice President
will unveil new economic development initiatives and participate in a
town hall meeting on bringing business, technology, and empowerment to
the Delta region.
THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE REAL PROGRESS IN MEETING THE
CHALLENGES OF THE DELTA. The Mississippi Delta region encompasses 7
states, 219 counties, and more than 8.3 million people. Although it has
bestowed a rich cultural heritage upon our nation and contributed
greatly to its productivity, this historically impoverished area still
lags behind the rest of the nation in social and economic growth. To
address these concerns, in 1990 the Delta Commission -- authorized by
Congress and chaired by then-Governor Bill Clinton -- published a
landmark report containing a 10-year plan with recommendations on
revitalizing the Delta region. In the past 7-years, the Clinton-Gore
Administration has made considerable progress in meeting the goals
outlined in the report and in bringing prosperity to the Delta
communities. For example:
Job Growth. The unemployment rate for the Delta region dropped from
7.5% in 1993 to 5.1% in February 2000, and approximately 80% of its
counties experienced job growth over that period. -- Education. Federal
education funds targeted to the Delta's high-poverty school districts
have helped give students access to computers and the Internet. The
Administration's E-Rate program, which helps classrooms get connected,
provided over $250 million in funding between January 1998 and July 1999
to the seven Delta states. In addition, President Clinton's Class Size
Reduction Initiative has enabled the region to hire 1,500 new teachers.
Housing. Home ownership and rental housing opportunities for low- and
moderate-income people have increased. USDA has assisted 43,000 Delta
households in buying or improving their homes, and has offered $254
million in low-interest loans on more than 10,000 rental units in rural
areas of the Delta. Funding to assist the homeless has more than
tripled since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office. --
Transportation. Most of the nearly 70 improvements to highways,
airports, rail and port facilities recommended in the report have either
been completed or substantially fulfilled, and many critical projects
are underway, including strengthening and retrofitting the Interstate
40-Mississipi River Bridge; reducing congestion on the heavily traveled
Interstate 55 in Memphis; and widening many arterial highways in the
rural parishes of the Delta region. -- Investment. Innovations such as
Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Community Development
Financial Institutions have brought millions of public- and
private-sector investments to the region. From 1994 to the beginning of
1999, rural Delta communities drew over $10.2 million from EZ/EC
funding, and used it to leverage $107.4 million -- nearly 10 times as
much -- from state, local, private business, and nonprofit sources.
BUT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ENABLE THE CITIZENS OF THE DELTA REGION TO
PARTICIPATE FULLY IN AMERICA'S SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. Although
significant progress has been made, more work remains before the Delta
region can be an equal partner in our nation's economic prosperity. For
example:
Unemployment. The Delta's rural areas still lag far behind the
national unemployment rate of 3.9 percent. Some rural counties suffer
from unemployment rates two to three times higher than the national
average. -- Inadequate Housing. Many senior citizens and minorities in
the region still suffer from inadequate housing. Fifty eight percent of
rural elderly renters in three of the seven Delta states are
"cost-burdened", meaning that more than 30 percent of their monthly
income is spent on housing. -- Poverty. The poverty rate in the Delta
region's distressed counties is 32 percent, compared to a national rate
of 13 percent, and more than half of its 219 counties have had poverty
rates higher than 20 percent for the past 40 years. -- Low Income. Per
capita income in the Delta's distressed counties is only 53 percent of
the national average of $28,525.
PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE WILL ANNOUNCE KEY INITIATIVES
TO INCREASE GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY TO THE DELTA REGION. As part of this
Administration's longstanding commitment to the revitalization of the
Delta, President Clinton and Vice President Gore will announce new
investments and steps to promote the region's social and economic
development, including:
A new report by the Mississippi Delta Regional Initiative, a coalition
of 20 federal agencies working with state, local, private-sector, and
grassroots organizations from the Delta to promote economic and
community development in the region. As a follow-up to the Delta
Commission's 1990 report, today's report outlines the progress that has
been made in the region, steps that still need to be taken, and
recommendations for the future on ways to revitalize the regional
economy, improve the quality of life, enhance tourism, protect the
environment, and develop and implement regional planning. Major
recommendations include creating a permanent regional planning and
development entity and increasing technical assistance for the region's
smallest, poorest communities by using -- circuit riders-- to help them
learn about and apply for funding.
New federal funding for the Delta Region. The President and Vice
President will unveil an array of new federal investments to provide
infrastructure, job training and technology, and community support to
the Delta:
Providing Infrastructure Improvements to Promote Growth and Increase
Job
Access
$30.7 million in critically needed USDA loans and grants to 19
communities for basic potable water systems, community facilities, and
business assistance. -- $2.75 million in grants from the Department of
Commerce -- matched with $2 million from non-federal sources -- for
residential and industrial road, water and sewer projects. -- A $5.5
million grant from the Department of Veterans' Affairs to North Little
Rock, Arkansas for the creation of a veterans' cemetery.
Investing in Economic Development for the Delta's Future
A Mississippi Delta Tourism Initiative launched by the Departments of
Transportation, Commerce, and the Interior to build on the $13 billion
Delta tourism industry. -- $14.6 million in USDA loans, loan guarantees,
and grants to assist businesses in the Delta region. -- $3.7 million in
Department of Labor grants for employment training and job placement
centers. -- $1.2 million in grants from the Department of Education for
Community-Based Technology Centers. -- 3 additional workshops by the
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund targeted to
organizations serving the Delta region. -- $210,000 in grants by the
Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration -- matched
with $317,167 from non-federal sources -- to provide direct assistance
to small businesses and to fund the design of a comprehensive economic
development strategy for the 41 counties in the Arkansas Delta region.
A new $4 million local loan fund created by the East Arkansas
Enterprise Community and the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta that
will leverage an additional $2 million from private financing sources.
A commitment by Entergy Corporation to expand the new Delta
BusinessLINC program. -- $150,000 from the Department of Transportation
to expand the MentorNet program in the Delta region. -- 6 computer
kiosks displaying federal job opportunities and 15 surplus computers to
Delta region high schools, donated by the Office of Personnel
Management.
Strengthening Delta Families and Delta Communities
$100,000 in resources from the U.S. Geological Survey, and $100,000 in
software from ESRI Co. to improve accessibility to geographic and
socio-economic data that will assist in regional planning. -- $170,000
in new EPA grants to train teachers on environmental safety and to
encourage farmers to use environmentally sound land management
practices. -- $224,320 in USDA grants for home-building assistance in
Arkansas. -- $495,000 in new COPS grants by the Department of Justice to
expand community policing.
Calling on Congress to enact the Delta Regional Authority Act to bring
meaningful and lasting change to the region. The legislation would
establish the Delta Regional Authority -- a permanent regional planning
and development entity to work with state and local agencies in
formulating plans and programs to boost the economic conditions of local
communities and to encourage private-sector involvement in the region.
President Clinton's 2001 budget proposes an additional $159 million for
the Delta region: $30 million for the creation of the Delta Regional
Authority, and $129 million in targeted funds for job creation,
education, housing, small business assistance, and other community
development initiatives.