President Clinton and Vice President Gore:
Working for Working Families
?We have to continue in Washington to fight for the right to organize
and to function in a union that will permit you to have a life you
enjoy.?
-- President Bill Clinton, March 18,
1998
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Creating More Jobs and a Stronger Economy |
| ? Over 22 million new jobs created by the American economy ? more |
| new jobs than Presidents Reagan and Bush created during their three |
| terms |
| ? Lowest unemployment in more than 30 years, and lowest African |
| American and Hispanic unemployment ever. |
| ? Lowest poverty rate since 1979 |
| ? Fastest and largest real wage growth in more than 30 years |
| ? Most rapid growth in construction jobs in 50 years |
| ? Lowest inflation rate since the 1960s |
| |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Better Lives for All Americans
? Saving Social Security and Medicare
? Real commitment to public education
? Opening the doors of higher education
? Expanding access to health care
? Strong Patients Bill of Rights
? Tax cuts for working families
Standing up for Working Families
? Increasing the minimum wage
? Passing and expanding Family and Medical Leave
? Equal pay
? Child care
? Job training
? Pension security
? Safer workplaces
? Guarantee the right to organize and collective bargaining
? End striker replacement
? Standing up to an anti-worker Congress
President Clinton and Vice President Gore:
Working for Working Families
?We have to continue in Washington to fight for the right to organize
and to function in a union that will permit you to have a life you
enjoy.?
-- President Bill Clinton, March 18,
1998
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Creating More Jobs and a Stronger Economy |
| |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Longest Economic Expansion in U.S. History. In February 2000, the United
States entered the 107th consecutive month of economic expansion -- the
longest economic expansion in history.
Moving From Record Deficits to Record Surplus. In 1992, the Federal budget
deficit was $290 billion ? the largest dollar deficit in American history.
In January 1993, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit
would grow to $455 billion by 2000. The Office of Management and Budget is
now projecting a surplus of at least $256 billion for FY 2001 ? the fourth
consecutive surplus and the ninth consecutive year of fiscal improvement,
the longest such period in history.
More than 22 Million New Jobs. 22.4 million new jobs have been created
since 1993, the most jobs ever created under a single Administration ? and
more new jobs than Presidents Reagan and Bush created during their three
terms. 92 percent (20.6 million) of the new jobs have been created in the
private sector, the highest percentage in 50 years. Under President
Clinton and Vice President Gore, the economy has added an average of
240,000 jobs per month, the highest of any President on Record. This
compares to 52,000 per month under President Bush and 167,000 per month
under President Reagan.
Fastest and Longest Real Wage Growth in Over Three Decades. In the last 12
months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.8 percent -- faster than
the rate of inflation. The United States has had five consecutive years of
real wage growth -- the longest consecutive increase since the 1960s. Since
1993, real wages are up 6.5 percent, after declining 4.3 percent during the
Reagan and Bush years.
Unemployment is the Lowest in Over Three Decades. Unemployment is down
from 7.5 percent in 1992 to 4.0 percent in November 2000, nearly the lowest
in more than three decades. The unemployment rate has fallen for seven
years in a row, and has remained below 5 percent for 41 months in a row ?
over three full years. Unemployment for African-Americans fell to the
lowest level ever recorded, and for Hispanics it remains at historic lows.
4 Most Rapid Growth in Construction Jobs in 50 Years: Under President
Clinton and Vice President Gore, construction jobs are coming back. After
losing 662,000 jobs in construction during the previous four years, 2.2
million new construction jobs have been added since January 1993 -- a
faster annual rate than any other administration since Harry S Truman.
4 Manufacturing Jobs are Up: Although economic troubles in East Asia
have dampened U.S. exports and reduced manufacturing jobs over the last 18
months, manufacturing jobs are up 252,000 overall under President Clinton,
after declining by 2.1 million under Presidents Bush and Reagan.
4 Auto Jobs Are Up: After losing 46,000 jobs in the auto industry during
the Bush Administration, 161,000 new auto jobs were added since 1993 -- the
fastest annual rate of auto job growth since the Johnson Administration.
And for the first time since the 1970s, America led the world in auto
production for four years in a row.
4 Building and Construction Unemployment Rate Cut in Half: When
President Clinton took office, the unemployment rate in the construction
industry was 14.5 percent. In July 1999, unemployment in the construction
rate had dropped to 6.9 percent.
Highest Homeownership Rate in History. The homeownership rate reached 67.7
percent in the third quarter of 2000, the highest ever recorded. Minority
homeownership rates were also the highest ever recorded. In contrast, the
homeownership rate fell from 65.6 percent in the first quarter of 1981 to
63.7 percent in the first quarter of 1993. There are almost 10 million more
homeowners than in 1993.
Investing in the American People
Saving Social Security. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have
coupled fiscal discipline with a commitment to preserve and protect Social
Security. President Clinton has proposed extending the program's solvency
until at least 2057 by paying down the national debt and dedicating the
interest savings to Social Security. President Clinton has also called for
a bipartisan effort to save Social Security for 75 years. Thanks in part
to the Clinton-Gore economic strategy of fiscal discipline, which created
the conditions for the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, the life
of the Social Security trust fund has been extended until 2037.
4 The Clinton-Gore Administration opposes plans that would totally
privatize the Social Security system and require raising payroll taxes, the
retirement age or both.
Eliminated the Retirement Earnings Test. President Clinton fought for and
signed bipartisan legislation to eliminate the confusing and out-dated
Social Security earnings test to encourage work and earnings among older
Americans.
Enacted Most Comprehensive Medicare Reforms in History. In the 1997
Balanced Budget, the Clinton-Gore Administration protected, modernized and
extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund while offering new options for
patient choice and preventive care. New preventive benefits passed include
coverage of annual mammograms, coverage of screening tests for both
colorectal and cervical cancer, and a diabetes self-management benefit.
The President proposed a plan to reform and modernize Medicare?s benefits,
including an optional prescription drug benefit that is affordable and
available to all beneficiaries. The President has also proposed a reserve
fund to help Medicare beneficiaries with extremely high prescription drug
costs. In 1993, Medicare was expected to run out of money in 1999. Now,
the life of the Trust Fund has been extended until 2025.
Strong Commitment to Public Education. President Clinton?s Class Size
Reduction Initiative has already put nearly 30,000 additional teachers in
the classroom, and this year the President won a third installment on his
plan to hire 100,000 new, well-trained teachers to reduce class sizes in
the early grades. President Clinton enacted the largest investment in
education in 30 years by signing the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. In 2000,
President Clinton fought for and won a new initiative to repair America?s
schools, providing $1.2 billion for urgent school renovation. President
Clinton and Vice President Gore are also fighting to guarantee safe schools
and protect students from gun violence.
4 Since 1992 test scores are rising, even amongst our most disadvantaged
students. In fact, in 1998, students posted the highest math scores in 27
years on the SAT. And the number of high school students taking Advanced
Placement exams tripled between 1984 and 1997.
Opening the Doors of Higher Education. President Clinton and Vice
President Gore have made the largest investment in higher education since
the G.I. Bill, opening the doors of college to every American who is
willing to work for it. Thanks to their leadership Americans now have a
$1,500 tax credit for the first two years of college; tax deductions for
interest on student loans; education IRAs that allow families to withdraw
money to send children to college penalty free; the highest maximum Pell
Grant award ever; more work-study opportunities; and AmeriCorps national
service opportunities that help participants earn money for college.
4 67 percent of high school graduates went directly to college in 1997,
compared to 53 percent in 1983. The number of African American high school
graduates going on to college increased from 39 percent in 1983 to 60
percent in 1997 -- the highest number ever.
Expanding Health Care Coverage. President Clinton and Vice President Gore
won funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to provide
insurance for up to 5 million uninsured children, and have instituted new
outreach initiatives to enroll additional eligible children. President
Clinton signed Health Insurance Reform that limits exclusions for
pre-existing conditions, makes coverage portable and helps individuals who
lose jobs maintain coverage. And in October 2000, President Clinton
enacted the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, which
provides new treatment options to low-income, uninsured women with breast
and cervical cancer who are diagnosed through federally sponsored screening
programs.
Fighting to Pass a Strong, Enforceable Patients? Bill of Rights. The
President and Vice President have repeatedly called on Congress to pass a
strong, enforceable patients? bill of rights that assures Americans access
to health care specialists, access to emergency rooms and a meaningful
right to appeal HMO decisions. Leading by example, President Clinton has
already extended these rights to 85 million Americans covered by Medicare,
Medicaid and federal health plans (including members of Congress) by
executive order.
Tax Cuts for Working Families. President Clinton and Vice-President Gore
have worked to enact targeted middle-class tax cuts including a $500 child
tax credit, $1,500 Hope Scholarship tax credit for the first two years of
college, a 20 percent Lifetime Learning education tax credit, and an
expanded Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC expansion alone has provided
15 million Americans with additional tax relief, and helped lift 4.3
million people out of poverty in 1998.
4 Because of the Administration?s support for targeted tax cuts for
middle-class families, the tax burden on the typical middle-class family of
four is the lowest it has been in a generation. The Tax Foundation, a
conservative policy group, found that the median family pays about the same
percentage of its income in federal taxes as it did in 1955.
Standing up for Working Families
Increased the Minimum Wage. The minimum wage has risen from $4.25 to $5.15
per hour, increasing wages for 10 million workers. The President and Vice
President have called for an additional increase to $6.15 over two years.
Signed the Family and Medical Leave Act. The previous Administration
vetoed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) twice, but the FMLA was the
first bill signed by President Clinton when he took office in 1993. FMLA
has allowed workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for
family members without fear of losing their jobs. Millions of workers have
benefited from FMLA since its enactment.
4 President Clinton has proposed expanding FMLA to allow workers to take
up to 24 unpaid hours off each year for school and early childhood
education activities, routine family medical care, and caring for an
elderly relative.
Fighting for Equal Pay. The President and Vice President have called on
Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen laws
prohibiting wage discrimination. This year, the President has proposed a
$27 million initiative to help the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission
and the Labor Department fight wage discrimination. The President?s budget
also includes a $20 million National Science Foundation initiative to
promote the full participation of women in science and technology fields.
Improved Access to Affordable, Quality Child Care and Early Childhood
Programs. Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, federal funding for child
care has more than doubled, helping parents pay for the care of about 1.5
million children in 1998, and the1996 welfare reform law increased child
care funding by $4 billion over six years to provide child care assistance
to families moving from welfare to work. Since 1993, the Clinton-Gore
Administration have nearly doubled funding for the Head Start program, and
in FY 2001, the program will serve approximately 935,000 children ? more
than 160,000 more children than in 1993.
Expanded Job Training To Help Dislocated Workers. In 1993, training was
available for just 300,000 dislocated workers. President Clinton?s 2001
budget would triple funding for the dislocated worker program over 1992
levels, which would serve almost one million workers. President Clinton
has also helped millions of American workers increase their skills and
earning power by making it easier to get student loans, sponsoring
School-To-Work programs, supporting and passing Lifetime Learning tax
credits for education and training and launching AmeriCorps national
service.
Increasing Pension Security. President Clinton fought for legislation that
has expanded pension coverage, made pensions more secure for 42 million
American workers and retirees, and simplified pension plan administration.
The Administration is also promoting new efforts to encourage retirement
savings and make pensions more portable.
4 The Clinton-Gore Administration has stepped up enforcement to protect
workers? pensions, recovering $20 million for plans that represent 400,000
employees and passed laws cracking down on companies that raid their
workers' pension funds. And under the Clinton-Gore Administration, the
Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation reached its best financial condition
in over 20 years.
Safer Workplaces. President Clinton has revitalized enforcement at the
Labor Department by adding more front-line enforcers, supported the
comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act and opposed efforts
that would make workplaces less safe. In the FY 2001 budget, President
Clinton won an additional $102 million to support 1,500 inspections to
ensure safe and healthy workplaces.
Reducing Repetitive Motion Industries. The Labor Department has finalized
ergonomic standards which should reduce the number of repetitive motion and
muscular-skeletal injuries in the workplace, currently estimated at more
than 600,000 annually. Workplace injuries and illnesses are occurring at
the lowest rate since the government started keeping statistics in the
early 1970s.
Supporting the Right of All Workers to Organize. President Clinton and
Vice President Gore opposed the Republican ?salting? bill that would
penalize workers who want to organize unions. The President also won $20
million in the FY 2000 budget to create a new arm of the International
Labor Organization, to work with developing countries to put in place basic
labor protections, safe workplaces, and the right to organize, so that
workers everywhere can enjoy the advantages of a strong social safety net.
Protecting Collective Bargaining. President Clinton and Vice President
Gore have fought to end striker replacement and opposed the Team Act, which
would interfere with the ability of workers to organize and bargain
collectively. And President Clinton has appointed members of the NLRB who
believe in collective bargaining and can be fair to workers. The
Administration has also played an active role in helping to resolve tough
labor disputes, bringing parties together to reach agreement. These
collective bargaining disputes have included: Northwest Airlines, American
Airlines, Long Island Rail Road, UPS, Teamster national trucking contract,
Amtrak, Mineworkers and Bituminous Coal Operators Association.
Working to End Striker Replacement. In 1993, as one of his first acts as
president, President Clinton issued an Executive Order prohibiting federal
agencies from doing business with employers that permanently replace
striking workers. The Clinton-Gore Administration supports legislation that
would have prohibited all companies from permanently replacing striking
workers.
Ended The Federal Government?s Anti-Worker Policies. In 1993, President
Clinton rescinded executive orders that continued to punish air traffic
controllers who went on strike, prohibited pre-hire agreements on federal
construction projects and required employers to provide one-sided
anti-union information to their employees.
4 President Clinton signed Hatch Act Reform into law, allowing federal
civil servants to more actively participate in the political process
Cracked Down On Child Labor and Sweatshops. President Clinton and Vice
President Gore are working to end child labor and sweatshop working
conditions throughout the world. President Clinton signed an executive
order prohibiting federal agencies from buying goods made with forced or
indentured child labor. In December 1999 President Clinton ratified the
International Labor Organization?s Convention on the Elimination of Child
Labor. The President won funding in the FY 2000 budget for key
international priorities, including $30 million for the ILO?s International
Program for the Elimination of Child Labor.
4 President Clinton?s Sweatshop Initiative has led to the creation of a
code of conduct written by human rights leaders, union officials, clergy
and apparel manufacturers. The code places a cap on weekly work hours,
provides for mandatory days off and requires that workers be paid a minimum
wage. It also forbids child labor and demands safe working conditions.
Ten major apparel and footwear makers have agreed to participate, including
Levi Strauss, Nike, Patagonia and adidas. More than 120 colleges and
universities have also required that all their licensed merchandise meet
the minimum standards.
Campaigned Against So-Called ?Paycheck Protection? Measures. President
Clinton and Vice President Gore have stood up to right wing ballot measures
that would harm working families. Both the President and Vice President
helped in the fight to defeat California?s Proposition 226, which would
limit the ability of unions to speak out on behalf of their members.
President Clinton and Vice President Gore have stood with working families
to prevent Congress from gutting laws that protect working families
including:
4 Prevailing Wages: including the Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract
Act, which guarantee federal contract workers fair and livable wages.
4 Worker Safety: The Clinton-Gore Administration has fought efforts to
gut OSHA and MHSA standards and vetoed attempts to cut worker safety
enforcement budgets.
4 Minimum Wages, Overtime, and 40-Hour Weeks: The Clinton-Gore
Administration has opposed and vetoed attempts to roll back provisions of
the Fair Labor Standards Act.
4 Collective Bargaining: President Clinton has revitalized the NLRB and
fought attempts to cut its budget and weaken its power to stand up for
workers.
4 Pension Protections: President Clinton opposed efforts by Congress to
give employers a green light to raid their workers? pensions, fighting a
provision that would have allowed companies to use pension assets to free
up other corporate funds for other purposes.
January 2001
President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House | White House for Kids
White House History | White House Tours | Help
Privacy Statement