THE WHITE HOUSE AT WORK
Tuesday, May 23,
2000
PRESIDENT CLINTON:
ANNOUNCING A LANDMARK BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON
AMERICA'S NEW MARKETS
"We have achieved an agreement that will allow us to give every
family in every community a stake in the prosperity Americans have worked so
hard to build."
President Bill Clinton
Tuesday, May 23, 2000
Today, at the White House, President Clinton, joined by House
Speaker Dennis Hastert, announced a landmark bipartisan agreement on bringing
capital and opportunity to America's untapped markets. This New Markets and
Community Renewal legislative initiative will help encourage private-sector
equity investment in underserved communities throughout the country to ensure
that all Americans share in our nation's economic prosperity. Today's
announcement is the outcome of the commitment President Clinton and Speaker
Hastert made last November to develop a bipartisan legislative initiative on
New Markets and revitalizing impoverished communities.
An Unprecedented Commitment to America's Untapped Markets.
Since 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have been committed to
tapping the potential of America's urban and rural communities by bringing
capital, jobs, and opportunity to distressed areas and cleaning up the urban
environment. The President has highlighted the potential of America's New
Markets in three trips to underserved inner city and rural communities like
Newark, NJ, Hartford, CT, the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, rural Arkansas,
and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Today's bipartisan agreement
marks an unprecedented commitment to bringing new incentives for capital
investment to America's distressed and lower-income communities, and contains
the following key elements:
New Markets Initiatives
- The New Markets Tax Credit: This credit will spur $15 billion in
equity investment and will be available to taxpayers who invest in certain
privately-managed investment funds and institutions which use these funds to
finance businesses in low- and moderate-income communities.
- America's Private Investment Companies: Leveraging $2 for every
$1 in private investment, the agreement authorizes HUD to guarantee up to $1
billion in low cost loans to match $500 million in private investment for a
total of $1.5 billion in investments in underserved communities
- New Markets Venture Capital Firms: NMVC firms will provide
incentives to increase the availability of venture capital in low and
moderate-income communities for small businesses.
Empowerment Zones
- Designates a third round of 9 new Empowerment Zones for a total
of 40;
- Expands EZ tax incentives to form strategic partnership with all
existing EZs so that all can utilize the 20% EZ wage credit, additional
business expensing, and other incentives;
- Commits $200 million in discretionary investment this year for
existing EZs;
- Establishes zero-rate capital gains rollover for investments
within EZs;
- Provides a 60% capital gains exclusion for investment in small
businesses; and
- Extends D.C. tax incentives to 2009.
Renewal Communities
- Creates 40 Renewal Communities (32 urban, 8 rural), designated by
the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development with targeted, pro-growth tax
benefits, regulatory relief.
- Expands the Low Income Housing Tax Credit by more than 40% to
build an additional 180,000 units of affordable housing for working families
over the next five years.
- Allows faith-based organizations to qualify for substance abuse
prevention and treatment programs on the same basis as other non-profits.
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