THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

          THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION:  A 7-YEAR RECORD OF
          PROMOTING GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE DELTA REGION
                              May 10, 2000

Since taking office, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have been committed to tapping the potential of the Mississippi Delta region. Even before 1993, as Governor of Arkansas, the President led the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission in its efforts to bring social and economic prosperity to a region which has historically been left behind. The President and Vice President have targeted resources and investments and worked with states, localities, and the private sector to bring capital, jobs, and opportunity to the Delta region. The following are highlights of the Clinton-Gore Administration's 7-year record of working to revitalize Delta communities:

Providing Infrastructure Improvements to Promote Growth. Investments in infrastructure are critical to economic growth and the quality of life in the Delta region. The Clinton-Gore Administration has made investing in infrastructure a priority in its efforts to bring economic development to the region.

• Improving Highways. The Federal Highway Administration has worked closely with state governments to ensure a safe and efficient transportation infrastructure within the Delta region. Federal funding has contributed to numerous improvements in highways, roads, and other infrastructure. For example, over the last decade, Arkansas has received approximately $140 million to complete 120 miles of highway reconstruction, surfacing, widening and other projects in Delta counties. Many more 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.
• Maintaining Airport Quality and Safety. The Federal Aviation Administration has provided over $411 million in financial assistance to 81 airports in the Delta region from 1993 to 1999, helping to construct, develop and maintain the region's airports. Funding is used for projects which enhance the safety and quality of the airports and their surroundings, including improving runways and taxiways, remodeling terminals, and acquiring land for noise compatibility.
• Improving Water Quality Projects. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund supports low-interest loans to help communities build and upgrade sewage treatment plants and other wastewater systems. Since 1994, the Fund has provided over $1.1 billion in low-cost financing to the seven Delta states for a range of water quality infrastructure projects.
• Providing Telephone Service. USDA's Rural Utilities Service has provided first-time telephone service to over 8,200 rural residents of the Delta region. In addition, approximately $154 million in RUS funding has brought improved telecommunications to more than 77,000 Delta residents.
• Expanding Health Care Access and Education. In addition to funding traditional infrastructure projects, the Rural Utilities Service's Distance Learning and Telemedicine program provided $9.8 million in grants and loans to 800,000 Delta residents for improvements in access to health care and educational opportunities in the health care field.
• Preserving the Mississippi River's Culture and History. In 1998, President Clinton designated the Lower Mississippi River as an American Heritage River to help restore and protect the environmental, economic, cultural, and historic values of the river. A "river navigator" is appointed to help Mississippi river communities identify federal programs and resources that can assist them in implementing their restoration plans.

Investing in Economic Development for the Delta's Future. Through providing access to capital, job training, and small business assistance, the Clinton-Gore Administration has invested in the long-term economic development and prosperity of the Delta region.

• Establishing Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities. In 1994, under Vice President Gore's leadership, the Administration announced the creation of five urban and eight rural EZs and ECs in the Delta region, accounting for nearly one-fourth of all rural EZ/ECs announced that year. The success of the program led to another EZ being added in 1999. EZ/ECs help spur economic growth through sustainable development, local leadership, long-range planning, and community-based partnerships. From 1994 to the beginning of 1999, the Delta's rural communities drew over $10.2 million from their EZ/EC funding, and used it to leverage $107.4 million -- 0 times as much -- from state, local, business, and nonprofit sources.
• Stimulating Economic Development. The Economic Development Administration works with local governments and community groups in the Delta region to generate new jobs, help retain existing jobs, and stimulate industrial and commercial growth. Since the beginning of the Administration, the Delta region has received over $47 million in EDA Title IX funds for projects like the Technology Economic Development Center in Madisonville, KY, a community facility offering distance learning, job training and employment services to dislocated workers and others.
• Encouraging Community Development. Community Development Block Grants are competitively awarded to cities, counties, and states to revitalize neighborhoods, expand affordable housing and economic opportunities, and improve community facilities and services, primarily to benefit low- and moderate-income persons. From 1993 to 1999, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided $944 million in Community Development Block Grants to support rural housing and economic development in the Delta region.
• Supporting Rural Business. Under USDA Rural Development's Community Facilities, Rural Business, and Water & Wastewater programs, the 219-county Delta region has received approximately $961 million in funding since 1993. These funds are used for rural development projects like establishing community resource centers, constructing or upgrading water distribution systems; and providing loan guarantees to local businesses.

Strengthening Delta Families and Delta Communities. Some of the most vital investments are those made in the people and communities of the Delta -- improving access to technology, affordable housing, and clean water are just a few of the Administration's efforts to improve the quality of life for Delta residents.

• Targeting Education Funds. Federal education funds targeted to the Delta's high-poverty school districts have helped give students access to computers and the Internet. The Department of Education allocated over $350 million in fiscal year 1998 alone to high-poverty school districts in the Delta. Under the Vice President's leadership, the Clinton-Gore Administration created the E-rate program, which secures low-cost Internet connections for schools, libraries, rural health clinics and hospitals, benefiting more than 80 percent of America's public schools. Between January 1998 and June 1999, the seven Delta states received over $256 million in E-rate funding. And under President Clinton's Class Size Reduction Initiative, the Department of Education provided more than $50 million to the Delta region last year to hire approximately 1,500 new teachers to reduce class size in the early grades.
• Helping Families Buy or Rent Homes. USDA has provided $2.2 billion in loans under its Single-Family Housing Loan Program to 43,000 Delta households to buy or improve their homes. For rental housing, USDA provided more than $254 million in low-interest loans on more than 10,000 rental units in rural areas of the Delta.
• Supporting Affordable Housing. Since President Clinton took office, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided $260 million to the Delta region through the HOME Program, which helps state and local governments produce standard affordable housing for low- and very low-income families.
• Providing Opportunity and Training Workers. The Clinton-Gore Administration has provided significant resources to increase training for dislocated workers, families on welfare, and disadvantaged youth. Since 1993, the Administration has provided the seven Delta states with $6.1 billion for Job Training Partnerships, $267.8 million for Welfare-to-Work grants, $27.4 million for the Youth Opportunity program, and $239 million in Job Corps to provide training for disadvantaged youth.
• Accelerating Brownfields Clean-Up. The Clinton-Gore Administration has worked to accelerate the cleanup of brownfields -- abandoned, contaminated urban properties that face barriers to redevelopment. Since 1994, the EPA has steered more than $1.5 million to the Delta region to assess, clean up, and redevelop abandoned brownfields sites, creating new jobs and a new tax base for dozens of Delta communities.
• Helping Communities Provide Clean Drinking Water. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, proposed by President Clinton and enacted in 1996, supports low-interest loans to help communities build and upgrade their water treatment systems. Since 1993, the EPA has provided the Delta region with $39.1 million through the Fund.
• Reducing Water Pollution. Clean Water Act Section 106 grants are a primary source of funding for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of surface and groundwater pollution from point and nonpoint sources, and for improving the health of the nation's waters. The seven Delta states have received $72.7 million in Section 106 grants since 1994.
• Controlling Polluted Runoff. Clean Water Act Nonpoint Source grants are provided to states for a variety of projects to control polluted runoff, including streambank restoration, wetlands protection, and education. Over $138 million in Nonpoint Source grants have been awarded since 1994 to the seven Delta states.