North Carolina

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PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS: North Carolina PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE’S PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE’S

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: North Carolina

EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

Unemployment Down to 3.8%: The unemployment rate in North Carolina has declined from 5.5% to 3.8% since 1993.

723,100 New Jobs: 723,100 new jobs have been created in North Carolina since 1993 -- an average of 92,311 per year, compared to an average of just 38,625 jobs per year in the previous administration.

622,200 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 622,200 new private sector jobs have been created—an average of 79,430 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 25,125 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration.

83,000 New Construction Jobs: 83,000 construction jobs have been created in North Carolina since 1993 -- an average of 10,710 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 4,000 construction jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.

342,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 106,000 North Carolina workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage—from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. They, along with about 236,000 others 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.

Business Failures Down 8.9% Per Year: Business failures have dropped an average of 8.9% per year since 1993, after increasing 22.4% per year during the previous administration. [Oct. 98 data]

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 678,000 families in North Carolina.

Homeownership Has Increased in North Carolina: Homeownership in North Carolina has increased from 69.1% to 71.7% since 1993.

Home Building Up 5.9%: Home building in North Carolina has increased by an average of 5.9% per year since 1993, after falling by over 1.1% per year during the previous administration.

North Carolina'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 North Carolina 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.

35.8% Growth in Total Bank Loans and Leases: North Carolina has seen a 35.8% average growth rate in total bank loans and leases per year since 1993. In contrast total bank loans and leases increased just 3.6% during the previous administration.

37.7% Growth in Commercial and Industrial Loans and Leases: Since 1993, North Carolina has experienced a 37.7% annual growth rate in commercial and industrial loans and leases. In contrast, commercial and industrial loans and leases grew only an average of 3.1% per year during the previous administration.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION

Nearly 17,400 Children in Head Start: 17,394 North Carolina children were enrolled in Head Start in 1999. In FY00, North Carolina will receive $106 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $51.8 million over 1993.

More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for North Carolina’s Schools: Thanks to the Class Size Reduction Initiative, North Carolina received $24.7 million in 1999 to hire about 635 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 North Carolina $26.7 million in 2000 and $33.4 million in 2001.

$20.7 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. North Carolina will receive $20.7 million in school renovation grants.

$8.9 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY01], North Carolina receives $8.9 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.

$169 Million for Students Most in Need: North Carolina receives $169 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: North Carolina will receive $4.6 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.

$206.4 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY01], North Carolina will receive $206.4 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college, benefiting 81,965 North Carolina students.

Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: North Carolina will receive $23 million in Work-Study funding in 2001 to help North Carolina students work their way through college.

Over 2,600 Have Served in North Carolina through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 2,636 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in North Carolina’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. 158,000 students in North Carolina will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 193,000 students in North Carolina will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 plan]

Expanded Job Training to North Carolina’s Dislocated Workers: President Clinton's FY 2001 budget would triple funding for the dislocated workers program over 1992 levels. North Carolina received $13.8 million in 1999 to help 8,210 dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible. In FY 2000, North Carolina will receive over $16.9 million to provide job training services for dislocated workers.

FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Murder Down in Winston-Salem and Charlotte: Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, America has experienced the longest continuous drop in crime on record. Since 1992, murder has declined 40% in Charlotte and 61% in Winston Salem. In addition, robberies have also declined 11% in Charlotte, 18% in Raleigh and 37% in Winston Salem. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports]

Juvenile Arrests Down in North Carolina: North Carolina’s juvenile murder arrests have decreased 26% between 1992 and 1997. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997]

2,714 More Police: The President’s 1994 Crime Bill has funded 2,714 new police officers to date in communities across North Carolina. [through 1/01]

Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in North Carolina, the Clinton Administration has awarded a Drug Court grant to the community of Cherokee. 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.

$33.4 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, North Carolina has received approximately $33.4 million in federal funds to establish more women’s shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims’ services. [through 9/2000]

Over $1.6 Million in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY99, North Carolina received over $1.6 million in HHS’s Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse.

$9.9 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of North Carolina Schools: North Carolina receives $9.9 million in FY01 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.

MOVING NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS FROM WELFARE TO WORK

207,201 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 207,201 fewer people on welfare in North Carolina now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a 62% decrease. [through 6/99]

Child Support Collections Up 87%: Child support collections have increased by $146 million—or 87% -- in North Carolina since FY92. [through FY98]

Encouraging Responsible Choices—Preventing Teen Pregnancy in North Carolina: 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 13% in North Carolina.

$85.8 Million for North Carolina Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999, North Carolina received $48.9 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants (the state matched $24.5 million in funding), helping North Carolina welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, in 1999 and 1998 a total of $12.4 million in competitive grants were awarded to North Carolina localities to support innovative welfare-to-work strategies and Native American tribes in North Carolina received $118,000 in Federal funding. 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. Statewide, North Carolina has received $501,000 to fund innovative transit projects. In addition, Charlotte and Winston-Salem have received a total of $396,395 for these transportation projects.

INVESTING IN NORTH CAROLINA’S HEALTH

Health Care for Over 57,000 Uninsured Children in North Carolina: 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 57,300 in North Carolina. [HHS, Health Care Financing Administration, FY99 SCHIP enrollment data]

Helping Nearly 200,000 North Carolina 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, North Carolina received $96.5 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 197,254 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, 22,200 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 North Carolina in 1998, 96% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 94% received the vaccine for polio; 96% 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, North Carolina will receive over $5.8 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, North Carolina will receive over $7.5 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 48% in North Carolina: The Clinton Administration’s tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 48% in North Carolina by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 114,800 of North Carolina’s youth will be kept from smoking and 36,700 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99]

3,470,000 Americans in North Carolina Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if North Carolina enacted all the protections in the Patients’ Bill of Rights, 3,470,000 people in North Carolina 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, 1,730,000 North Carolina 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

Over $14 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY00], thanks to President Clinton, North Carolina will receive over $14 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.

Eight Superfund Sites Cleaned Up: Since the President took office in 1993, the EPA has completed eight toxic waste site clean-ups North Carolina. The sites are located in Charlotte, Shelby, Swannanoa, Aberdeen, Cordova, Morrisville, Concord and Belmont. Only one site was cleaned up during the two previous administrations combined. [through 3/1/00]

Revitalizing Brownfields in North Carolina: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration’s efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to communities in North Carolina—Burlington, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Fayetteville, and High Point—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.

Restoring North Carolina’s Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary: North Carolina is receiving $221 million from the USDA's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), as well as $54 million from State and non-federal sources, to improve the water quality of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary. The CREP targets streams and riverbanks in the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, and Chowan river basins, including land in the Haw and New Hope River watershed, which provides municipal drinking water. The program will restore habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife, help bring an important fishery back to health, and improve the quality of a drinking water source serving more than 550,000 people. CREP is a new voluntary initiative where the Agriculture Department partners with State governments and local interests to address local environmental problems related to agriculture.

SPEARHEADING URBAN RENEWAL EFFORTS

Revitalizing North Carolina’s Communities: Hailfax/Edgecombe, Robeson County, and Charlotte were all designated Enterprise Communities in December, 1994 and were awarded $3 million each to create more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity for area residents.

Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 4,000 To 4,900 New Affordable Housing Units in North Carolina 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 North Carolina alone, this proposal would mean an additional 4,000 - 4,900 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years.

PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF

Over $1 Billion in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, North Carolina has received over $1 billion in disaster relief. This includes over $419 million in critical relief provided by FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd in 1999. It also includes $29 million in assistance for severe storms, flooding, tornadoes, and Hurricane Bonnie. Additionally, FEMA has provided disaster relief assistance to North Carolina for Hurricane Fran, and Bertha, which occurred in 1996. [FEMA, 2/29/00]

EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT

Over $1.8 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, North Carolina has received over $1.8 billion in federal highway aid, including $38.9 million for emergency relief in response to natural disasters and $1 million for scenic byways. These funds have helped generate 82,879 jobs. [through FY99]

Over $303.9 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY99 North Carolina received over $303.9 million in Airport Improvement Project 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.