The First Balanced Budget in a Generation and a
Mainstream Tax Cut

Roughly $900 Billion in Net 10 Year Deficit Savings. First Balanced Budget since 1969. Largest Investment in Higher Education Since the G.I. Bill in 1945: $1,500 HOPE Scholarship to Help Make Two Years of College Universally Available. 20% Tuition Tax Credit for College Juniors, Seniors, Graduate Students and Working Americans pursuing Lifelong Learning to upgrade their skills. Single Largest Investment in Health Care for Children Since 1965. A $500 Per Child Tax Credit for Approximately 27 Million Families. Critical Long-Term Entitlement Reforms -- Extends Solvency of Medicare Trust Fund for at Least a Decade. Brownfields and Empowerment Zones Tax Incentives to Revitalize Our Nation's Distressed Areas. A $ 3 Billion Welfare-to-Work Jobs Initiative Targeted to High Poverty Areas. Treats Legal Immigrants Fairly -- Restores Health and Disability Benefits.

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The First Balanced Budget in a Generation

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FIRST BALANCED BUDGET SINCE 1969

Net savings of roughly $900 billion over ten years.

1993 Economic Plan has cut the deficit more than 75% from $290 billion in 1992 to $67 billion or lower in 1997. This agreement finishes the job -- balances the budget in 2002 and puts the budget in surplus at least through 2007.

SINGLE LARGEST INVESTMENT IN HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN SINCE THE PASSAGE OF MEDICAID IN 1965

An unprecedented $24 billion for children's health care. Guarantee of meaningful health coverage including full range of benefits to as many as 5 million uninsured children.

Provisions to ensure that states use this investment to provide health care coverage to children who do not currently have health insurance and that there are adequate cost protections so that families are not burdened with excessive costs so that care is affordable.

CRITICAL LONG-TERM ENTITLEMENT REFORMS

Between $400-$450 billion in ten-year Medicare savings.

Extends the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for at least a decade.

Prepares Medicare for the 21st century -- more choice, competition, improved payment systems.

$4 billion in preventive benefits to fight diseases like breast cancer, diabetes & colon cancer.

$1.5 billion to help pay the premiums of low-income Medicare beneficiaries.

PROTECTS THE PRESIDENT'S CRITICAL DOMESTIC PRIORITIES.

The Budget Agreement, which will be enacted in the Appropriations bills in the fall, includes 99% of total amount of President's 5-year Domestic Discretionary Budget.

Largest education investment in 30 years.

Pell Grant expansion -- maximum grant increased to $3,000.

New child literacy initiative consistent with President's America Reads.

Head Start expansion -- on track to 1 million children in 2002.

Full funding for President's training budget, including Job Corps.

President's FY 98 budget request for EPA Operating Budget

National Park Service full funding for operations budget, plus land acquisition and state assistance, and Everglades Restoration.

Superfund -- clean-up of 500 toxic sites in next four years (if policies can be worked out).

COPS -- funding on track to put 100,000 more police officers on streets by 2000, plus full funding for overall Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.

MOVES PEOPLE FROM WELFARE TO WORK & TREATS LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FAIRLY

$3 billion to help states and local communities move people from welfare to work.

$12 billion to restore both disability and health benefits for 350,000 legal immigrants in 2002 who are currently receiving assistance or become disabled, ensuring that they will not be turned out of their apartments or nursing homes or otherwise helpless.

Preserves the minimum wage and other labor protections for welfare recipients moving from welfare to work. Does not include the House-passed provision to leave workfare participants unprotected by the

Fair Labor Standards Act and other employment laws. Protects workers from displacement by those leaving the welfare rolls, and establishes a strong process for workers to raise grievances with an independent agency.

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A Mainstream Tax Cut

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On December 15, 1994, President Clinton proposed the Middle Class Bill of Rights, which included a $500 Child Tax Credit, an expanded IRA to allow people to withdraw money tax-free and without penalty for education, and a tax deduction for post-high school education expenses. Each of the President's proposals is included in this budget:

A CHILD TAX CREDIT FOR APPROXIMATELY 27 MILLION FAMILIES.

$500 Per-Child Tax Credit for approximately 27 million families with 45 million children under 17. The credit begins to phase out for couples with incomes above $110,000.

13 million children from families with incomes below $30,000 will receive the child tax credit -- up to 7.5 million* more than would have under the Congressional plans. Families earning under $30,000 such as young teachers, police officers, farmers, and nurses who work hard and play by the rules will now receive the Child Tax Credit.
*Comparison to House passed bill; vs. Senate bill: 5.9 million.

A VICTORY FOR MIDDLE CLASS PARENTS TRYING TO PAY FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S COLLEGE AND FOR WORKING PEOPLE TRYING TO UPGRADE THEIR SKILLS.

$1,500 HOPE Scholarship to make the first two years of college universally available. The final agreement includes the President's initiative to help make the 13th and 14th grades as universal as a high school diploma is today. Students will receive a scholarship of 100% on the first $1,000 of tuition and fees and 50% on the second $1,000.

20% Tuition Tax Credit for college juniors, seniors, graduate students and for working Americans pursuing lifelong learning to upgrade their skills. The 20% credit will be applied to the first $5,000 of qualified education expenses through 2002, and to the first $10,000 thereafter. The President has long understood that the economy is changing and that people need the opportunity to enhance their skills throughout their working lives. This is why the President insisted on the 20% tuition tax credit that is in the final bill and was a major improvement over the bills passed by Congress.

TAX INCENTIVES TO REVITALIZE OUR NATION'S DISTRESSED URBAN AREAS.

A key component of the President's tax cutting agenda has been to spur economic activity in distressed areas of our nation's cities. This budget reflects the President's agenda:

A New Tax Cut Plan Helps to Clean Up and Redevelop Brownfields. The 3-year Brownfields tax incentive will reduce the cost of cleaning up thousands of contaminated, abandoned sites in economically distressed areas by permitting clean-up costs to be deducted immediately for tax purposes. This will, in turn, encourage redevelopment of these areas. The Treasury Department estimates that this $1.5 billion tax incentive would leverage more than $6 billion for private sector cleanups nationwide, allowing redevelopment of 14,000 brownfields.

New Empowerment Zones (EZs). The budget includes a second-round of EZs -- 15 urban and 5 rural EZs. The new EZs will benefit from a different blend of tax credits from the first-round communities. For example, the EZs will be eligible for the Brownfields tax incentive, special expensing of business assets, and qualification for private-activity bonds.

HELPING MOVE PEOPLE FROM WELFARE TO WORK

A Welfare to Work Tax Credit. This provision will give employers an added incentive to hire long-term welfare recipients by providing a credit equal to 35% of the first $10,000 in wages in the first year of employment, and 50% of the first $10,000 in the second year, paid to new hires who have received welfare for an extended period. The credit is for two years per worker to encourage not only hiring but retention.

$3 Billion to Help Move 1 Million People from Welfare to Work. Includes President's proposal to create $3 billion Welfare to Work Jobs Challenge to move long-term welfare recipients into jobs. These funds can be used for job creation, job placement and job retention efforts, including wage subsidies to private employers, and other critical post-employment support services. The Labor Department will provide oversight but the dollars will be placed in the hands of the localities who are on the front lines of the welfare reform effort.