Colorado

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PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Colorado PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE’S PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE’S

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Colorado

EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

Unemployment Down to 2.7%: The unemployment rate in Colorado has declined from 6.1% to 2.7% since 1993.

584,600 New Jobs: 584,600 new jobs have been created in Colorado since 1993 -- an average of 74,630 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 43,900 jobs per year in the previous administration.

530,100 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 530,100 new private sector jobs have been created in Colorado—an average of 67,672 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 37,050 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration.

15,500 New Manufacturing Jobs: 15,500 manufacturing jobs have been created in Colorado since 1993 -- an average of 1,979 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 725 manufacturing jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.

84,500 New Construction Jobs: 84,500 construction jobs have been created in Colorado since 1993 -- an average of 10,903 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of only 4,850 construction jobs were created 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 Colorado, the poverty rate has fallen from 9.9% in 1993 to 8.7% in 1999. [Census Bureau]

75,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 37,000 Colorado workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage—from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. They, along with about 38,000 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.

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 409,000 families in Colorado.

Homeownership Has Increased In Colorado: Homeownership in Colorado has increased from 62.3% to 68.1% since 1993.

Home Building Up 10.5%: Home building in Colorado has increased an average of 10.5% per year since 1993.

Colorado'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 Colorado 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.

5.7% Growth in Total Bank Loans and Leases: Colorado has seen a 5.7% average growth rate in total bank loans and leases per year since 1993. In contrast total bank loans and leases fell over 4.7% during the previous administration.

2.5% Growth in Commercial and Industrial Loans and Leases: Since 1993, Colorado has experienced a 2.5% annual growth rate in commercial and industrial loans and leases. In contrast, commercial and industrial loans and leases fell over 11.8% during the previous administration.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION

Over 9,000 Children in Head Start: 9,135 Colorado children were enrolled in Head Start in 1999. In FY00, Colorado will receive $52.3 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $26.5 million over 1993.

More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Colorado’s Schools: Thanks to the Class Size Reduction Initiative, Colorado received $13.2 million in 1999 to hire about 339 new, well-prepared public school teachers. President Clinton secured funding for a second and third installment of the plan, giving Colorado $14.2 million in 2000 and $17.8 million in 2001.

$9.7 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. Colorado will receive $9.7 million in school renovation grants.

$3.5 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY01], Colorado receives $3.5 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.

$72 Million for Students Most in Need: Colorado will receive $72 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 [FY01].

Turning Around Failing Schools: Colorado will receive $1.9 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.

$112.6 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY01], Colorado will receive $112.6 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college.

Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: Colorado will receive $13.8 million in Work-Study funding in 2001 to help Colorado students work their way through college.

Over 3,500 Have Served in Colorado through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 3,537 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in Colorado’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. 107,000 students in Colorado will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 131,000 students in Colorado will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 estimate]

Expanded Job Training to Colorado’s Dislocated Workers: President Clinton's FY 2001 budget would triple funding for the dislocated workers program over 1992 levels. Colorado received $7.2 million in 1999 to help 4,290 dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible. In FY 2000, Colorado will receive another $8.9 million to provide job training services for dislocated workers.

FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Crime Falls 12% in Colorado: Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, America has experienced the longest continuous drop in crime on record. Since 1992, serious crime in Colorado has fallen by 12%. Violent crime and property crime have also declined 30% and 11% respectively. In Denver, between 1992 and 1997, serious crime, as indicated by the crime index, has declined 24%, with a 27% drop in murder and a 31% drop in robbery. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports]

Juvenile Arrests Down in Colorado: Colorado’s juvenile violent crime arrests have decreased 54% between 1992 and 1997, with Colorado’s juvenile murder arrests dropping 33%. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997]

1,160 More Police: The President’s 1994 Crime Bill has funded 1,160 new police officers in communities across Colorado. [through 1/01]

Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in Colorado, the Clinton Administration has awarded Drug Court grants to the communities of Denver and Fort Collins. 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.

$28.1 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, Colorado has received approximately $28.1 million in federal funds to establish more women’s shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims’ services. [through 9/2000]

Over $836,000 in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY99, Colorado received over $836,000 in HHS’s Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse.

$4.8 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Colorado’s Schools: Colorado receives $4.8 million in FY01 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.

MOVING COLORADO RESIDENTS FROM WELFARE TO WORK

93,045 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 93,045 fewer people on welfare in Colorado now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a 75% decrease. [through 12/99]

Child Support Collections Up 142%: Child support collections have increased by nearly $82 million—or 142% -- in Colorado since FY92. [through FY98]

Encouraging Responsible Choices—Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Colorado: 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 17.2% in Colorado.

$29.6 Million for Colorado Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999, Colorado received a total of $19 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants, helping Colorado welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, in 1999 and 1998 a total of $10.6 million in competitive grants were awarded to Colorado 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. Fort Collins, Pueblo, Loveland, Frisco, Pagosa Springs, and Grand Junction have received a total of $729,274 this year to fund innovative transit projects.

INVESTING IN COLORADO’S HEALTH

Health Care for Over 24,000 Uninsured Colorado 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 24,116 in Colorado. [HHS, Health Care Financing Administration, FY99 SCHIP enrollment data]

Helping Over 74,000 Colorado 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 FY98, Colorado received $40 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 74,839 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, over 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 Colorado in 1998, 96% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 93% received the vaccine for polio; 93% received the vaccine for measles, and 95% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis.

Funding for HIV/AIDS Assistance Programs: In FY 2000, Colorado will receive over $2.1 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, Colorado will receive nearly $4.4 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 43% in Colorado: The Clinton Administration’s tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 43% in Colorado by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 54,500 of Colorado’s youth will be kept from smoking and 17,400 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99]

1,810,000 Americans in Colorado Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if Colorado enacted all the protections in the Patients’ Bill of Rights, 1,810,000 people in Colorado 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, 890,000 Colorado 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

4 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed 4 Superfund toxic waste cleanups in Colorado -- in Denver, Boulder, Commerce City and Aspen. This is four times the number of sites cleaned up in Colorado under the previous two administrations. [through 3/1/00]

$10.4 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY00], thanks to President Clinton, Colorado will receive $10.4 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 Colorado: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration’s efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to communities in Colorado—Denver, Englewood, North Stapleton, Lakewood and Sand Creek Corridor—for environmental clean-up and economic revitalization. These projects are 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 Colorado’s Communities: Denver 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 1,500 To 1,800 New Affordable Housing Units in Colorado 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 Colorado alone, this proposal would mean an additional 1,500 - 1,800 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years.

PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF

$29.6 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Colorado has received $29.6 million in disaster relief. This includes $11.8 million to help victims recover from severe storms and flooding in 1999. [FEMA, 2/29/00]

EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT

$856 Million in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Colorado has received $856 million in federal highway aid. Included in this funding is $15.5 million for emergency relief in response to natural disasters and $6.6 million for scenic byways. These funds have helped generate 36,566 jobs. [through FY99]

Over $396 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY99 Colorado received more than $396 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.