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PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS: California

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• Unemployment Down to 4.8%: The unemployment rate in California has declined from 9.7% to 4.8% since 1993. In contrast, unemployment increased 94% under the previous administration.
• 2,466,900 New Jobs: 2,466,900 new jobs have been created in California since 1993 -- an average of 314,923 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 11,350 jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.
• 2,221,100 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 2,221,100 new private sector jobs have been created in California—an average of 283,545 jobs per year, compared to an average loss of 38,600 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration.
• 76,800 New Manufacturing Jobs: 76,800 manufacturing jobs have been created in California since 1993 -- an average of 9,804 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 66,475 manufacturing jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.
• 312,600 New Construction Jobs: 312,600 construction jobs have been created in California since 1993 -- an average of 40,335 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 28,025 construction jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.
• Poverty Has Fallen: Nationally, the poverty rate has fallen from 15.1% in 1993 to 11.8% in 1999, the lowest level since 1979. In California, the poverty rate has fallen from 18.2% in 1993 to 14.6% in 1999. [Census Bureau]
• Business Failures Down 2.1% Per Year: Business failures in California have decreased an average of 2.1% per year since 1993, after increasing 21.8% per year during the previous 12 years [Oct. 98 data].
• 1.2 Million Have Received a Raise: 999,000 California workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage—from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. They, along with 200,000 more, received an additional raise—from $4.75 to $5.15 -- on September 1, 1997. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have called on Congress to raise the minimum wage by an additional $1.00 over two years.
• Home Building Up 4.9%: Home building in California has increased by an average of 4.9% per year since 1993, after falling by over 21.2% per year during the previous administration.
• 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 3,229,000 families in California.
• California's Families Reap Benefits of Deficit Reduction: Public debt is on track to be $2.4 trillion lower in 2000 than was projected in 1993. Debt reduction brings real benefits for the American people -- a family in California with a home mortgage of $100,000 might expect to save roughly $2,000 per year in mortgage payments. Reduced debt also means lower interest rates and reduced payments on car loans and student loans.

• Over 86,000 Children in Head Start: 86,459 California children were enrolled in Head Start in 1999. In FY00, California will receive $636.6 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $332.8 million over 1993.
• More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for California's Schools: Thanks to the Class Size Reduction Initiative, California received $129 million in 1999 to hire about 3,332 new, well-prepared public school teachers and reduce class size in the early grades. President Clinton secured funding for a second and third installment of the plan, giving California $140 million in 2000 and $174.7 million in 2001.
• $133.6 Million for School Repairs: President Clinton fought for and won a new initiative to repair America's schools, providing $1.2 billion in the FY 2001 budget for urgent school renovation. California will receive $133.6 million in school renovation grants.
• $55.9 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY01], California receives $55.9 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 21^st century.
• Over $1 Billion for Students Most in Need: California will over $1 billion 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 [FY01].
• Turning Around Failing Schools: California will receive $29.3 million in Title I Accountability Grants in 2001. President Clinton created the accountability fund to help turn around the worst performing schools through such measures as overhauling curriculum, improving staffing, or even closing schools and reopening them as charter schools.
• Over $1.1 Billion in Pell Grants: This year [FY01], California will receive over $1.1 billion in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college.
• Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: California will receive $109 million in Work-Study funding in 2001 to help California students work their way through college.
• Nearly 19,500 Have Served in California through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 19,463 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in California's schools, hospitals, neighborhoods or parks. [through 2/00]
• 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. 931,000 students in California will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 1,142,000 students in California will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 estimate]
• Expanded Job Training to California's Dislocated Workers: President Clinton's FY 2001 budget would triple funding for the dislocated workers program over 1992 levels. California received $237.8 million in 1999 to help 140,830 dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible. In FY 2000, California will receive another $297.7 million to provide job training for dislocated workers.

• Crime Falls 24% in California: Since 1992, serious crime in California has fallen by 24%. Violent crime and property crime have also declined 25% and 24% respectively.
• Crime Has Dropped Sharply in Major Cities: In California's cities, between 1992 and 1998, total crime, as indicated by the crime index, has declined 48% in Anaheim, 34% in Fresno, 44% in Long Beach, 45% in Los Angeles, 21% in Oakland, 43% in San Diego, 46% in Santa Ana, and 39% in San Francisco. [1992 and 1998 Uniform Crime Reports]
• Juvenile Arrests Down in California: California's juvenile arrests have decreased 14% between 1992 and 1997, (as measured by the crime index), with California's juvenile murder arrests dropping 45%. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997]
• 14,606 More Police: The President's 1994 Crime Bill has funded 14,606 new police officers in communities across California. [through 1/01]
• Fresno and San Bernardino Will Receive Targeted Funding to Hire More Community Police: Fresno and San Bernardino were selected as pilot cities for the President's new effort to target high crime neighborhoods. The pilot program will provide full funding for new officers by waiving the usual matching requirements. Fresno and San Bernardino will deploy new officers to help meet the unique needs of their communities, such as combating gangs or targeting drug "hot spots."
• Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in California, the Clinton Administration has awarded Drug Court grants to the communities of Chula Vista, El Cajon, Fairfield, Richmond, Martinez, San Diego, San Francisco, Tulare, Ukiah and Vista. The Administration had previously awarded grants to a number of California communities including: Auburn, Bakersfield, Butte County, El Monte, Rio Hondo, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Pasadena, Redwood, Riverside, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Santa Monica, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Compton, Hanford, Indio, Los Angeles, Merced, Napa, Orange, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Bernardino. 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.
• $145.4 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, California has received approximately $145.4 million in federal funds to establish more women's shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution, and victims' services. And in October 1999, the University of California at Davis was awarded $543,000 to help address sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking on campus. [through 9/2000]
• Over $6.9 million in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY99, California received over $6.9 million in HHS's Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
• $52.9 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of California's Schools: California receives $52.9 million in FY01 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.

• 680,018 Fewer on Welfare: There are currently 680,018 fewer people on welfare than there were in the beginning of 1993-- a 28% decrease. [through 6/99]
• Child Support Collections Up 115%: Child support collections have increased by over $752 million—or 115% -- in California since FY92. [through FY98]
• Encouraging Responsible Choices—Preventing Teen Pregnancy in California: 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. Nationally, teen births have fallen seven years in a row, by 18 percent from 1991 to 1998 -- the lowest level since 1987. And between 1991 and 1997, teen birth rates declined 23.3% in California.
• $441.9 Million for California Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999, California received a total of $367.6 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants, helping California welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, in 1998 and 1999 a total of $74.3 million in competitive grants were awarded to California 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. Bakersfield, County of Del Norte, Davis, Los Angeles, Marysville, Oakland, Orange County, Sacramento, San Andreas, Santa Clara County, San Luis Obispo, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Thousand Palms, Ukiah, Visalia, and Woodland have received a total of $4 million this year to fund innovative transit projects.

• Health Care for Over 220,000 Uninsured California 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 222,351 in California. [HHS, Health Care Financing Administration, FY99 SCHIP enrollment data]
• Helping 1.2 Million California 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, California received $698.9 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 1.2 million women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, 375,000 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 California in 1998, 92% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 88% received the vaccine for polio; 91% received the vaccine for measles, and 92% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis.
• Funding for HIV/AIDS Assistance Programs: In FY 2000, California will receive over $32.5 million in Ryan White Title II formula grants. This funding provides people living with HIV and AIDS medical and support services. Also through the Ryan White Act, California will receive over $74 million for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), which help those without insurance obtain much needed prescription drugs. There has been a tenfold increase in ADAP funding in the last four years, up from $52 million in 1996 to $528 million in 2000. [HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, 4/7/00]
• Tobacco Plan Will Cut Smoking and Premature Deaths by 47% in California: The Clinton Administration's tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 47% in California by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 317,200 of California's youth will be kept from smoking and 101,500 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99]
• 13,090,000 Americans in California Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if California enacted all the protections in the Patients' Bill of Rights, 13,090,000 people in California 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, 6,230,000 California 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.

• Invested More Than $3.9 Billion in California's Veterans: President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to caring for California's 2.8 million veterans -- the largest number of veterans of all 50 states. The Veterans Administration invested more than $3.9 billion in California in 1999 alone. In 1999, 266,697 California veterans received disability compensation or pension payments, more than 33,618 went to college on the GI Bill, and 51,427 bought a home using VA loan guarantees.
• Providing Health Care for California's Veterans: Since 1993, the VA health system has increased the number of patients treated every year by over 29 percent; treated 83 percent more homeless patients; organized approximately 1,300 sites of care delivery under 22 Veterans Integrated Service Networks; and established more than 250 new community-based outpatient clinics. In California, VA operates major medical centers in Loma Linda, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Sacramento-Martinez, and Fresno, as well as 21 outpatient clinics located throughout the state. In 1999, 356,000 veterans received health care in California's VA facilities.

• 23 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed 23 Superfund toxic waste cleanups in California. That's more than one and a half times the number of sites cleaned up during the previous 12 years combined. [through 3/1/00]
• $84 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY00], thanks to President Clinton, California will receive $84 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.
• Revitalizing Brownfields in California: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to counties and communities in California—East Palo Alto, Emeryville, Oakland, Pomona, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Colton, Long Beach, Montebello, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Stockton, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Santa Barbara County and Alameda County—for environmental clean-up and economic revitalization. In addition, the State of California Trade and Commerce Agency, which will target six sites for redevelopment, will benefit from a Brownfields grant. These projects are intended to jump-start local clean-up efforts by providing funds to return unproductive, abandoned, contaminated urban properties to productive use.

• Revitalizing California's Communities: In 1994, Los Angeles/Huntington Park, Oakland, Imperial County, San Diego, San Francisco, and Watsonville were all designated Enterprise Communities in December, 1994 and were each awarded $3 million to create more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity for city residents. Los Angeles was designated a Supplemental Empowerment Zone and was awarded $125 million for similar job creation efforts. In 1999, Santa Ana was designated a New Urban Empowerment Zone, Riverside County was named a New Rural Empowerment Zone, and Orange Cove was named a Rural Enterprise Community.
• Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 12,700 To 15,200 New Affordable Housing Units in California 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 California alone, this proposal would mean an additional 12,700 - 15,200 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years.

• $8.2 Billion in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, California has received $8.2 billion in disaster relief. This includes $21.7 million to aid recovery from severe fires in 1999, $148 million in aid to victims of severe winter storms and flooding in 1998, and $5.7 billion in assistance to recover from the Northridge Earthquake, which occurred in January of 1994. [FEMA, 2/29/00]

• Over $7.6 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, California has received over $7.6 billion in federal highway aid, including $1.6 billion for emergency relief in response to natural disasters. These funds have helped generate 308,163 jobs. [through FY99]
• Over $874 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY99 California received over $874 million in Airport Improvement Program 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. Included in this funding was $15 million for soundproofing homes near LAX.
• Transit Funding: The Federal Transit Administration has provided over $5.3 billion in funding since 1993 to support public transportation in California. And following the 1994 Orange County bankruptcy, the FTA expedited the award of a $23 million formula assistance grant to the Orange County Transit District, including $8.8 million of operating assistance. The FTA has also funded a number of Livable Communities including: a grant to the Los Angeles County MTA for Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) which is a two-year transit-based demonstration program covering eight transit dependent, low-income LA communities; BART (San Francisco) on behalf of the Spanish Speaking Unity Council, to assist in the development of a "transit village" at the BART Fruitvale Station in Oakland.
• Saving Lives and Property: In 1999, the United States Coast Guard saved 254 lives and more than $55.2 million of property in California.

January 2001

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