T H E   W H I T E   H O U S E

Rhode Island

Help Site Map Text Only

Rhode Island
PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Rhode Island

PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE'S

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Rhode Island

 

EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

  • Unemployment Down to 4.5%: The unemployment rate in Rhode Island has declined from 8.2% to 4.5% since 1993.
  • 43,800 New Jobs: 43,800 new jobs have been created in Rhode Island since 1993 -- an average of 5,776 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 9,225 private sector jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.
  • 41,900 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 41,900 new private sector jobs have been created—an average of 5,525 jobs per year, compared to an average loss of 9,925 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration.
  • 6,300 New Construction Jobs: 6,300 construction jobs have been created in Rhode Island since 1993 -- an average of 831 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 2,100 construction jobs were lost each year during the previous administration.
  • 25,000 Have Received a Raise: 25,000 Rhode Island workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage—from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have called on Congress to raise the minimum wage by an additional $1.00 over two years.
  • 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 94,000 families in Rhode Island.
  • Poverty Has Fallen: Nationally, the poverty rate has fallen from 15.1% in 1993 to 11.8% in 1999, the lowest level since 1979. In Rhode Island, the poverty rate has fallen to 10.7% in 1999. [Census Bureau]
  • Homeownership Has Increased in Rhode Island: Homeownership in Rhode Island has increased from 58.1% to 60.6% since 1993.
  • Home Building Up 2.1%: Home building in Rhode Island has increased by an average of 2.1% per year since 1993, after falling by over 19% per year during the previous administration.
  • Business Failures Down 18.5% Per Year: Business failures have dropped 18.5% per year since 1993, after increasing 86.9% per year during the previous administration. [Oct 98 data]
  • Rhode Island's Families Reap Benefits of Deficit Reduction: Public debt is on track to be $2.4 trillion lower in 2000 than was projected in 1993. Debt reduction brings real benefits for the American people -- a family in Rhode Island with a home mortgage of $100,000 might expect to save roughly $2,000 per year in mortgage payments. Reduced debt also means lower interest rates and reduced payments on car loans and student loans.
  • 33.1% Growth in Total Bank Loans and Leases: Rhode Island has seen a 33.1% average growth rate in total bank loans and leases per year since 1993. In contrast total bank loans and leases fell an average of 5.6% per year during the previous administration.
  • 36.0% Growth in Commercial and Industrial Loans and Leases: Since 1993, Rhode Island has experienced a 36.0% annual growth rate in commercial and industrial loans and leases. In contrast, commercial and industrial loans and leases fell an average of 3.5% per year during the previous administration.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION

  • Over 2,800 Children in Head Start: 2,817 Rhode Island children were enrolled in Head Start in 1999. In FY00, Rhode Island will receive $16.9 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $8.6 million over 1993.
  • More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Rhode Island's Schools: Thanks to the Class Size Reduction Initiative, Rhode Island received $5.6 million in 1999 to hire about 145 new, well-prepared public school teachers and reduce class size in the early grades. President Clinton secured funding for a second installment of the plan, giving Rhode Island an additional $6.1 million in 2000.
  • $1.9 Million in Goals 2000 Funding: This year [FY00], Rhode Island receives $1.9 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. [Education Department, 12/3/99]
  • $2.1 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY00], Rhode Island receives $2.1 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.
  • $25.2 Million for Students Most in Need: Rhode Island receives $25.2 million in Title I Grants (to Local Educational 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 [FY00]. This includes nearly $430,000 in accountability grants, to help states and school districts turn around the worst performing schools and hold them accountable for results.
  • $32.5 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY00], Rhode Island will receive $32.5 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college, benefiting 16,793 Rhode Island students.
  • Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: The FY00 budget includes a significant expansion of the Federal Work Study program. Rhode Island will receive $7.6 million in Work-Study funding in 2000 to help Rhode Island students work their way through college.
  • Nearly 1,500 Have Served in Rhode Island through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 1,484 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in Rhode Island's schools, hospitals, neighborhoods or parks. [through 2/00]
  • 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. 29,000 students in Rhode Island will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 36,000 students in Rhode Island will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 estimate]
  • Expanded Job Training to Rhode Island's Dislocated Workers: President Clinton's FY 2001 budget would triple funding for the dislocated workers program over 1992 levels. Rhode Island received $3.7 million in 1999 to help 2,210 dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible. In FY 2000, Rhode Island will receive $3 million to provide job training services for dislocated workers.

FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE

  • Crime Falls 22% in Rhode Island: Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, America has experienced the longest continuous drop in crime on record. Since 1992, serious crime in Rhode Island has fallen 22%. Violent crime and property crime have also declined 17% and 22% respectively. In Providence, between 1992 and 1997, serious crime, as indicated by the crime index, has declined 27%, with a 37% drop in murder and 31% drop in robbery. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports]
  • Juvenile Arrests Down in Rhode Island: Rhode Island's juvenile murder arrests have decreased 25% between 1992 and 1997. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997]
  • 330 More Police: The President's 1994 Crime Bill has funded 330 new police officers to date in communities across Rhode Island. [through 7/00]
  • Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in Rhode Island, the Clinton Administration has awarded a Drug Court grant to the community of Providence. 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.
  • $11 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, Rhode Island has received approximately $11 million in federal funds to establish more women's shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims' services. [through 9/2000]
  • $400,000 in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY99, Rhode Island received $400,000 in HHS's Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
  • $2.2 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Rhode Island's Schools: Rhode Island will receive $2.2 million in FY00 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.

MOVING RHODE ISLANDERS FROM WELFARE TO WORK

  • 11,219 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 11,219 fewer people on welfare in Rhode Island now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a decrease of 18%. [through 6/99]
  • Child Support Collections Up 68%: Child support collections have increased by over $17 million—or 68% -- in Rhode Island since FY92. [through FY98]
  • Encouraging Responsible Choices—Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Rhode Island: 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 1991 and 1997, teen birth rates declined 5.9% in Rhode Island.
  • $12.2 Million for Rhode Island Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999, Rhode Island received a total of $8.5 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants, helping Rhode Island welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, $3.7 million in competitive grants were awarded to Rhode Island 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. Providence has received $1 million this year to fund an innovative transit project.

INVESTING IN RHODE ISLAND'S HEALTH

  • Health Care for Nearly 7,300 Uninsured Rhode Island Children: In 1997, President Clinton passed the largest single investment in health care for children since 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 that children need to grow up strong and healthy. Two million children nationwide have health care coverage thanks to the President's plan, including 7,288 in Rhode Island. [HHS, Health Care Financing Administration, FY99 SCHIP enrollment data]
  • Helping Over 22,000 Rhode Island 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 FY99, Rhode Island's WIC grant funding of $12.2 million will help 22,088 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, 2,000 more than in 1994. [through 8/99]
  • 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, 90% or more of America's toddlers received the most critical doses of each of the routinely recommended vaccines in 1996, 1997, and again in 1998 —surpassing the President's 1993 goal. In Rhode Island in 1998, 98% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 96% received the vaccine for polio; 96% received the vaccine for measles, and 97% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis.
  • Funding for HIV/AIDS Assistance Programs: In FY 2000, Rhode Island will receive $1.1 million in Ryan White Title II formula grants. This funding provides people living with HIV and AIDS medical and support services. Also through the Ryan White Act, Rhode Island will receive $1.4 million for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), which help those without insurance obtain much needed prescription drugs. There has been a tenfold increase in ADAP funding in the last four years, up from $52 million in 1996 to $528 million in 2000. [HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, 4/7/00]
  • Tobacco Plan Will Cut Smoking and Premature Deaths by 38% in Rhode Island: The Clinton Administration's tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 38% in Rhode Island by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 13,000 of Rhode Island's youth will be kept from smoking and 4,200 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99]
  • 460,000 Americans in Rhode Island Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if Rhode Island enacted all the protections in the Patients' Bill of Rights, 460,000 people in Rhode Island 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, 230,000 Rhode Island 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.

CARING FOR OUR VETERANS

  • Invested Nearly $180 Million in Rhode Island's Veterans: President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to caring for Rhode Island's 109,000 veterans. The Veterans Administration invested nearly $180 million in Rhode Island in 1999 alone. In 1999, 13,520 Rhode Island veterans received disability compensation or pension payments, nearly 900 went to college on the GI Bill, and 1,143 bought a home using VA loan guarantees.
  • Providing Health Care for Rhode Island's Veterans: Since 1993, the VA health system has increased the number of patients treated every year by over 29 percent; treated 83 percent more homeless patients; organized approximately 1,300 sites of care delivery under 22 Veterans Integrated Service Networks; and established more than 250 new community-based outpatient clinics. In 1999, 11,262 veterans received health care in Rhode Island's VA facilities.

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

  • 2 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed Superfund toxic waste clean-ups sites in Glocester and North Smithfield, Rhode Island. Only one toxic waste site was cleaned up during the previous two administrations combined. [through 3/1/00]
  • $7.7 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY00], thanks to President Clinton, Rhode Island will receive $7.7 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.
  • Revitalizing Brownfields Project in Rhode Island: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to the State of Rhode Island and the State of Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to identify and prioritize Brownfields sites for environmental clean-up and economic revitalization. This project is intended to jump-start local clean-up efforts by providing funds to return unproductive, abandoned, contaminated urban properties to productive use.

SPEARHEADING URBAN RENEWAL EFFORTS

  • Revitalizing Rhode Island's Communities: Providence was designated an Enterprise Community in 1994 and was awarded $3 million to create more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity. In 1999, Providence was named a Strategic Planning Community.

PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF

  • $4.4 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Rhode Island has received $4.4 million in disaster relief. This includes assistance to recover from the Blizzard of 1996. [FEMA, 2/29/00]

 

EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT

  • $415 Million in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Rhode Island has received over $415 million in federal highway aid, including $500,000 for scenic byways. These funds have helped generate 17,190 jobs. [through FY99]
  • $80 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY99 Rhode Island received nearly $80 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 $126.8 Million in Transit Funds: Rhode Island has received over $126.8 million in Federal Transit funds since 1993.
  • Saving Lives and Property: In 1999, the United States Coast Guard saved 36 lives and over $54.6 million of property in Rhode Island.

October 2000


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 | Text Only

Privacy Statement

Northeast

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Vermont