THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

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For Immediate Release

January 19, 2000

PRESIDENT CLINTON VISITS BROOKLYN, NY AND THE WALL STREET PROJECT TO ANNOUNCE HIS FY2001 NEW OPPORTUNITY AGENDA

TODAY, PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL VISIT BROOKLYN, NEW YORK AND THE WALL STREET PROJECT TO ANNOUNCE FURTHER ELEMENTS OF HIS NEW OPPORTUNITY AGENDA. Today, President Clinton will announce his FY2001 New Markets agenda and highlight the need for continued efforts by the private sector to invest in distressed areas. This agenda includes:

• A major expansion of his New Markets and Empowerment Zone Tax Credits.
• A new initiative known as First Accounts, to bring the "unbanked" into the financial mainstream.
• An invitation to corporate leaders to participate in a roundtable at the White House to discuss how the business community can build upon the success of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

President Clinton will kick off the day with SBA Administrator Aida Alvarez and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez who will be the lead sponsor in the House of Representatives of the New Markets Venture Capital legislation, a key component of the President's New Markets initiative. This legislation was introduced last year in the Senate (S.1594) by Senator John Kerry. The event will take place at Brooklyn's Boricua College where they will announce the opening of a new Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the creation of an innovative new lending cooperative, that will focus on Brooklyn's Hispanic business community.

President Clinton will then speak to the Wall Street Project, founded by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, where he will address 2,000 corporate leaders to discuss the importance of corporate involvement and investment in underserved areas. At each stop, the President will emphasize his strong commitment to developing and passing in to law a bi-partisan legislative initiative based on the agreement that he and Speaker Hastert announced last November.

PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL BE JOINED TODAY BY CONGRESSWOMAN NYDIA VELAZQUEZ AND OTHER CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LEADERS. These include: Victor Alicea (President and Founder, Boricua College), Marjorie Magner (CEO of the Consumer Bank, Citigroup), Francis Byrd, (Assistant Vice President, Bank Popular), Woodrow C. McCutchen (President, National Association of Small Business Development Centers), James King (Director, New York State Small Business Development Centers), Steve Kravitz (President and Chairman of Loan Source), Terry Ludwig (Executive Director, Accion New York), and Andrew Murstein (President, Medallion Financial Corporation).

IN BROOKLYN, CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LEADERS JOINED THE PRESIDENT, ADMINISTRATOR ALVAREZ AND CONGRESSWOMAN VELAZQUEZ TO ANNOUNCE THE FOLLOWING COMMITMENTS FOR BROOKLYN, NEW YORK:

• The Opening of a New Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Boricua College. This Small Business Development Center which is housed in Brooklyn's Boricua College will focus on the area's Hispanic business community by providing assistance in an effective, culturally-conscious environment. The program will deliver business counseling, training and technical assistance in all aspects of small development business management. The following commitments have been made to the Center:
  • SBDC program: $250,000
  • Citigroup: $100,000 per year for next three years
  • Boricua College: $22,000 plus donation of space
  • Banco Popular: $7,500
  • Bell Atlantic: $35,000. Bell Atlantic has provided prime office space at the Metroplex facility in the heart of Brooklyn's business district as an SBDC outreach location. They have also provided free internet access to the SBDC.

• Creation of a New Lending Co-operative Affiliated with Small Business Development Center. The New Markets Lending Cooperative is an innovative program that will bring together several levels of capital funding to Brooklyn. The Cooperative will be a first-of-its kind effort in Brooklyn, a much-needed vehicle to bring debt and equity capital to business owners in this predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. The Cooperative is a pool of resources that will be available to small business owners and has obtained commitments totaling over $13 million in loans and venture capital for the Brooklyn community. The program will offer assistance for loans and venture capital through three participating partners - Accion New York, a Community Development Financial Institution and microlender that will provide $5 million in microloans over the next two years to Brooklyn, the Loan Source, a Small Business Lending Company that will provide $3-5 million in SBA-guaranteed loans, and the Medallion Financial Corporation, a Specialized Small Business Investment Company that will provide $5 million in loans and venture capital.

THE PRESIDENT WILL ALSO ADDRESS THE WALL STREET PROJECT LUNCHEON ON HIS FY2001 NEW MARKETS AGENDA AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES.

In the afternoon, the President will travel to Reverend Jesse Jackson's Wall Street Project to address a luncheon of 2,000 of the country's corporate leaders. During his remarks, the President will highlight his new opportunity agenda and emphasize the importance of Corporate America ‘s participation in the economic development of underserved communities around the country. He will extend an invitation to corporate leaders to participate in a roundtable discussion at the White House to explore how the business community can build on success of CRA. In addition, the National Academy Foundation has agreed to sign two formal Memoranda of Understanding with two federal agencies: the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration.

• Sanford Weill, on Behalf of the National Academy Foundation (NAF), will sign two Memoranda of Understanding with SBA and Department of Commerce to Increase Opportunities to Youth. Sanford I. Weill, Chairman of the National Academy Foundation by and Co-CEO of Citigroup announced his intention to sign two MOUs, one with SBA and one with Department of Commerce, which will raise awareness of opportunities to support the development of youth. These newly formed alliances will help provide opportunities for mentoring and internships; to advise NAF on curriculum development and public service opportunities for high school students.

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