EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
Unemployment Down to 3.8%: The unemployment rate in Missouri has declined from 6.2% to 3.8% since 1993. 348,200 New Jobs: 348,200 new jobs have been created in Missouri since 1993 -- an average of 54,265 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 15,800 jobs per year under the previous administration. 294,000 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 294,000 new private sector jobs have been created-an average of 45,818 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 11,175 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration. 2,000 New Manufacturing Jobs: 2,000 manufacturing jobs have been created in Missouri since 1993 -- an average of 312 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 7,700 manufacturing jobs were lost each year during the previous administration. 42,400 New Construction Jobs: 42,400 construction jobs have been created in Missouri since 1993 -- an average of 6,608 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 1,525 construction jobs were lost each year during the previous administration. 215,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 111,000 Missouri workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage-from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. They, along with about 104,000 others received an additional raise-from $4.75 to $5.15 -- on September 1, 1997. Poverty Has Fallen: Nationally, the poverty rate has fallen from 15.1% in 1993 to 13.3% in 1997. In Missouri, the poverty rate has fallen from 16.1% in 1993 to 11.8% in 1997--down 4.3% under President Clinton. [Census Bureau] 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 523,000 families in Missouri. Business Failures Down 5.8%: Business failures have dropped 5.8% per year since 1993, after increasing 26.2% per year during the previous 12 years. [Oct. 98 data] Home Ownership Has Increased in Missouri: Home Ownership in Missouri has increased from 68.2% to 68.6% since the fourth quarter of 1993. Home Building Up 3.5%: Home building has increased by an average of 3.5% per year since 1993, after falling an average of 3.8% per year during the previous administration. Over $25,000 of Reduced Federal Debt for Every Family of Four: The national debt will be $1.7 trillion lower in FY99 than projected in 1993 -- that's $25,000 less debt for each family of four in Missouri this year. EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Over 15,000 Children in Head Start: Over 15,000 Missouri children were enrolled in Head Start in 1998. In FY99, Missouri will receive $77.8 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $32.2 million over 1993. More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Missouri's Schools: Thanks to President Clinton, the final FY99 budget provides for the first year of the President's new initiative to hire 100,000 new, well-prepared teachers, to reduce class sizes in the early grades to a national average of 18. Missouri receives $20.5 million in 1999 to hire about 529 new public school teachers. And, under President Clinton's proposal, Missouri would receive $24 million in FY00 to support a total of 649 teachers. $8.4 Million in Goals 2000 Funding: This year [FY99], Missouri receives $8.4 million in Goals 2000 funding. This money is used to raise academic achievement by raising academic standards, increasing parental and community involvement in education, expanding the use of computers and technology in classrooms, and supporting high-quality teacher professional development. Nearly $7 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY99], Missouri receives $7 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 21st century. Connecting Missouri's Schools and Libraries to the Internet: The E-rate program is part of the Administration's effort to connect every classroom and library to the information superhighway, giving every child access to the resources and knowledge available online. This program helps schools and libraries by providing discounts of 20 to 90 percent on telecommunications services, internal connections and Internet access - with the largest discounts going to the poorest urban and rural schools. In the first year of funding alone, Missouri received over $23.6 million in E-rate discounts. $132.5 Million for Students Most in Need: Missouri receives $132.5 million in Title I Grants (to Local Education 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 [FY99]. This is an increase of $6.6 million over FY98 funding. 73,200 Students Will Receive Pell Grants This Year: This year [FY00], Missouri will receive $135.1 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college, benefiting a total of 73,200 Missouri students. Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: The FY99 budget includes a significant expansion of the Federal Work Study program. Alabama will receive $17.2 million in Work-Study funding in 1999 to help Missouri students work their way through college. Nearly 2,000 Have Served in Missouri through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 1,849 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in Missouri's schools, hospitals, neighborhoods or parks. [through 11/98] 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. 124,000 students in Missouri will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 152,000 students in Missouri will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY00 estimate] Expanded Job Training to Missouri's Dislocated Workers: Thanks to President Clinton, the FY99 budget includes a significant expansion in the dislocated worker program. Missouri will receive $12.8 million in 1999 to help 7,580 of Missouri's dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible. FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE
Violent Crime Falls 19% in Missouri: Since 1992, violent crime in Missouri has fallen 19% statewide. In Missouri's cities, serious crime, as indicated by the crime index, has fallen 10% in Kansas City, 2% in Springfield and 14% in St. Louis. Between 1992 and 1997, the murder rate in Kansas City has fallen 33% and 34% in Springfield. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports] 2,026 More Police: The President's 1994 Crime Bill has funded 2,026 new police officers to date in communities across Missouri. [through 7/99] Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in Missouri, the Clinton Administration has awarded Drug Court grants to the communities of Benton and St. Louis. The Administration had previously awarded grants to the Missouri communities of Kansas City and Jefferson City. 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. Nearly $3 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, Missouri received $2.9 million in federal funds in FY98 to establish more women's shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims' services. $1.1 million in Grants for Battered Women: In FY98, Missouri received $1.1 million in HHS's Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse, an additional $202,000 increase over FY97. $7.9 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Missouri's Schools: Missouri receives $7.9 million in FY99 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs. MOVING MISSOURI RESIDENTS FROM WELFARE TO WORK
123,656 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 123,656 fewer people on welfare in Missouri now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a 48% decrease. [through 3/99] Child Support Collections Up 72%: Child support collections have increased by over $120 million-or 72% -- in Missouri since FY92. [through FY98] Encouraging Responsible Choices-Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Missouri: 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 1992 and 1997, teen birth rates declined 18.5% in Missouri. $92.8 Million for Missouri Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999, Missouri received a total of $56.6 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants (the state matched $28.3 million in funding), helping Missouri welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In 1998, $7.9 million in competitive grants were awarded to Missouri 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. Statewide, Missouri has received $939,813 this year to fund innovative transit projects. In addition to this funding, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield have received a total of $1.56 million for these transportation projects. INVESTING IN MISSOURI'S HEALTH
Health Care for Uninsured Children: The balanced budget included the largest single investment in health care for children since the passage of Medicaid in 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-from checkups to surgery -- that children need to grow up strong and healthy. It ensures that prescription drugs, vision, hearing, and mental health coverage now offered at the state level are extended to millions of uninsured children. To expand health coverage to more uninsured children in Missouri the Balanced Budget provided $51.7 million in 1998. Helping Over 128,000 Missouri 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, Missouri received $69.3 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 128,300 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, 9,000 more than in 1994. 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, by 1996, 90% or more of America's toddlers received the most critical doses of each of the routinely recommended vaccines-surpassing the President's 1993 goal. In Missouri in 1997, 97% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 90% received the vaccine for polio; 90% received the vaccine for measles, and 95% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis. Increased Funding for Ryan White by $59.6 Million: Between 1993 and 1998, Missouri communities received $59.6 million in Ryan White formula and other HIV/AIDS program funds. This funding provides people living with HIV and AIDS medical and support services, including the AIDS Drug Assistance Program which helps those without insurance obtain much needed prescription drugs. [HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, 12/98] Tobacco Plan Will Cut Smoking and Premature Deaths by 45% in Missouri: The Clinton Administration's tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 45% in Missouri by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 78,200 of Missouri's youth will be kept from smoking and 25,000 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99] 2,360,000 Americans in Missouri Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if Missouri enacted all the protections in the Patients' Bill of Rights, 2,360,000 people in Missouri 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, 1,160,000 Missouri 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
10 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed 10 Superfund toxic waste cleanups in Missouri. The sites are located in Ballwin, Imperial, Moscow Mills, Times Beach, Cape Girardeau, Liberty, Springfield, Republic, Verona, and Amazonia [through FY98]. This is five times the number of sites cleaned up during the previous twelve years combined. $11.7 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY99], thanks to President Clinton, Missouri will receive $10 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. In addition, Missouri will receive $1.7 million in Public Water Supply Supervision grants to help monitor drinking water quality and enforce health standards. Revitalizing Brownfields in Missouri: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to communities in Missouri-Kansas City, St. Louis, Wellston, and Bonne Terre-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 RURAL AND URBAN RENEWAL EFFORTS
Revitalizing Missouri's Communities: The Greater Kansas City area was designated an Enterprise Community in December, 1994, and was awarded $3 million to create more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity for city residents. It was later declared an Enhanced Enterprise Community and awarded an additional $25 million for similar efforts. Additionally, East Prairie and St. Louis were both designated Enterprise Communities, and were awarded $3 million each to create economic opportunity for area residents. In 1999, St. Louis was designated a New Urban Empowerment Zone and Kansas City was named a Strategic Planning Community. Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 3,900 To 4,700 New Affordable Housing Units in Missouri 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 Missouri alone, this proposal would mean an additional 3,900 - 4,700 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years. Helping Rural Missouri Families: Since 1993, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has invested more than $1.13 billion in Missouri for rural economic development efforts including rural water and sewer, housing and business assistance.[through FY98] PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF
Over $319 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Missouri has received $319 million in disaster relief. [FEMA, 12/98] EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
Over $2.5 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Missouri has received over $2.5 billion in federal highway aid. Included in this funding is $83 million for emergency relief in response to natural disasters. These funds have helped generate 108,248 jobs. [through FY98] Over $215 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY98 Missouri received over $215 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. Over $443 Million in Transit Funds: Missouri has received over $443 million in FTA funds since 1993.
Last Updated August 1999
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