|
Families and Communities: Strengthening
America's Working Families
Tax Cuts for Working Families. 15 million additional working
families received additional tax relief because of the President's
expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit. In 1998, the EITC lifted 4.3 million
people out of poverty – double the number lifted out of poverty by the
EITC in 1993. This year, the President proposed expanding the EITC to provide
tax relief to an additional 6.8 million hard-pressed working families. [Good
News for Low Income Families: Expansions in the EITC and Minimum Wage, CEA,
12/98; Treasury Department]
Helping Parents Balance Work and Family. The Family and Medical
Leave Act allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for
seriously ill family members, new born or adoptive children, or their own
serious health problems without fear of losing their jobs. Nearly 91 million
workers (71% of the labor force) are covered by the Family and Medical Leave
Act and millions of workers have benefited from FMLA since its
enactment. 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. [Five Years of Success: Report on FMLA, Department of Labor,
8/98 (updated number provided 7/99)]
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 has increased funding for the Head Start program by 90 percent,
and in FY 2000, the program will serve approximately 880,000 children –
over 160,000 more children than in 1993.
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. [Good News
for Low Income Families: Expansions in the EITC and Minimum Wage, CEA,
12/98]
Enacted the Workforce Investment Act. The Workforce Investment
Act reformed the nation's employment and training system so that it works
better for today's workers. The WIA empowered individuals by giving adults more
control and choice over their training or retraining and providing universal
access to core labor market services; streamlined job training services by
consolidating a tangle of individual programs into a simple system and creating
a nationwide network of One-Stop Career Centers; enhanced accountability
through tough performance standards for states, localities, and training
providers; and increased flexibility so that states can innovate and experiment
with new ways to train America's workers better. [White House, Office of the
Press Secretary, 8/7/98]
Signed the Landmark Work Incentives Improvement Act. Americans
with disabilities often become ineligible for Medicaid or Medicare if they
work, forcing a choice between health care and employment. The Work Incentives
Improvement Act keeps people with disabilities from losing their Medicare or
Medicaid health coverage when they go to work. It also includes a $250 million
demonstration, which the President insisted on fully funding, that allows
people with disabilities who are still working and are not yet sufficiently
disabled to qualify for Medicaid to buy into the program. [White House, Office
of the Press Secretary, 11/17/99]
Signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act. The Adoption and Safe
Families Act, which was based in large part on the recommendations of the
Clinton-Gore Administration's Adoption 2002 report, made sweeping changes in
adoption law so that thousands of children in foster care move more quickly
into safe and permanent homes. In 1998, 36,000 children in foster care were
adopted, up from 28,000 in 1996. This is the first significant increase in
adoption since the national foster care program was established nearly 20 years
ago. [White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 11/19/97]
Enacted the Foster Care Independence Act. Nearly 20,000 young
people leave foster care each year when they reach age 18 without an adoptive
family or other guardian. The Foster Care Independence Act will ensure that
those young people will get the tools they need to make the most of their lives
by providing them better educational opportunities, access to health care,
training, housing assistance, counseling, and other services. [White House,
Office of the Press Secretary, 12/14/99]
Putting Families First. The President and Vice President
developed and implemented first-ever plan to protect our children from tobacco
and end tobacco marketing targeted to young people. They also required the
installation of V-chips in all new televisions, and encouraged schools to adopt
school uniform policies to deter school violence and promote discipline.
[Presidential Statement, 8/23/96; FCC Report No. GN 98-3, 3/12/98; Presidential
Memorandum, 2/23/96]
Supporting Community Service. In just five years, AmeriCorps has
allowed 150,000 young people to serve in their communities while earning money
for college or skills training. [Corporation for National Service Press
Release, 10/16/99]
President's One America Initiative. President Clinton has led the
nation in an effort to become One America: a place where we respect
others' differences and embrace the common values that unite us. The
President has been actively involved in public outreach efforts to engage
Americans in this historic effort, and followed up on the work of the
Initiative on Race by appointing Robert B. (Ben) Johnson as Assistant to the
President and Director of the new White House Office on the President's
Initiative for One America. The office is working to ensure that we have a
coordinated strategy to close the opportunity gaps that exist for minorities
and the underserved in this country, and build the One America we want for all
of our nation's children. The President's FY 2001 budget includes $5
million for One America dialogues to promote and facilitate discussions on
racial diversity and understanding. President Clinton has appointed the most
diverse Cabinet and White House staff in history, presiding over an
Administration that looks like America. [White House Fact Sheet, 6/12/97; The
White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 2/5/99]
Welcoming New Americans. Since 1993, the United States has
welcomed 4.4 million new American citizens. Faced with this unprecedented
number of applications, the Administration undertook an initiative that has
significantly reduced the backlog of citizenship applications and is restoring
timely processing. Furthermore, the Administration's English as a
Second Language/Civics Education Initiative will provide limited English
speaking adults with instruction in both English literacy and critical life
skills necessary for effective citizenship and civic participation.
Providing Fairness for Legal Immigrants. The President believes
that legal immigrants should have the same economic opportunity and bear the
same responsibility as other members of society. In 1997 and 1998, the
President fought for and succeeded in restoring disability, health and
nutritional benefits for certain legal immigrants, and he will continue to
press for additional restorations. |
