PRESIDENT CLINTON ADDRESSES
THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST BISHOPS CONFERENCE
Highlights Historic Progress for African Americans, Addresses Challenges
Ahead
September 20, 2000
Today, President Clinton will address the Church of God in Christ Bishops
Conference, one of the largest and most influential African American
religious denominations, with an estimated membership of eight million. At
the conference, the President will highlight the progress made during the
Clinton-Gore Administration in increasing opportunity and prosperity in the
African American community. The President will also discuss the challenges
that still face our nation -- including expanding civil rights enforcement
to ensure equal opportunity for all, enacting hate crimes legislation and
improving education for our children ? and call on Congress to continue the
progress for African Americans and take action on these important
priorities.
HIGHLIGHTING EIGHT YEARS OF PROGRESS FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS. Over the last
8 years, the President and Vice President have worked to turn the nation
around, bring it together, and ensure that all Americans share in the
nation?s prosperity. These accomplishments include:
BUILDING ONE AMERICA
? Appointing An Administration that Looks Like America. President Clinton
has appointed the most diverse Cabinet and Administration in history, with
twice as many African American appointees as any previous administration.
African Americans make up 12% of the Clinton Cabinet, 14% of Administration
appointees, and 17% of Federal bench nominations. The President has
appointed more African Americans to federal judgeships (62 total) than were
appointed during the last sixteen years combined (57 total).
? Working to End Racial Profiling. To help determine where and when racial
profiling occurs, the President directed Cabinet agencies to collect data
on the race, ethnicity, and gender of individuals subject to certain stops
by federal law enforcement. The President has also supported increased
resources for police integrity and ethics training and to improve the
diversity of local police forces.
? 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 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.
INVESTING IN EDUCATION
? Progress for African American Students. Reading and Math test scores of
African American students are up in virtually all categories. Three times
as many African American students took AP exams in 1999 as did in 1988, and
the percentage of African American high school graduates enrolling in
college increased from 48% in 1992 to 59% in 1997 -- the highest number
ever.
? Opening the Doors of College to All Americans. President Clinton
proposed and passed the HOPE Scholarships and Lifetime Learning tax
credits, which in 1999 benefited an estimated 10 million American families
paying for college. The HOPE Scholarship provides a tax credit of up to
$1,500 for the first two years of college. The Lifetime Learning tax
credit provides a 20 percent tax credit on the first $5,000 of tuition and
fees for students beyond the first two years of college.
? Proposing the Largest Head Start Expansion in History. Since 1993, the
Clinton-Gore Administration has increased funding for Head Start by 90%.
The President?s FY 2001 budget increases funding for Head Start by another
$1 billion ? the largest increase ever proposed for the program ? to
provide Head Start and Early Head Start to approximately 950,000 children.
This funding will bring within reach the President?s goal of serving one
million children in 2002 and builds the foundation for the long-term goal
of universal pre-school. In 1998, 36% of the children enrolled in Head
Start were African American.
? Turning Around Failing Schools. 11 million low-income students now
benefit from Title I- Aid to Disadvantaged Students, and all our children
are benefiting from higher expectations and a challenging curriculum geared
to higher standards. In the 1996-97 school year, 28% of the children
benefiting from the Title I program were African American.
? Preparing at-risk Students for College Success. The President and Vice
President created and expanded GEAR-UP, a mentoring initiative, to help
over 750,000 low-income middle school children finish school and prepare
for college.
EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES.
? Historic Economic Gains. The unemployment rate and poverty rate for
African Americans are both at the lowest levels on record, with an average
unemployment rate of 7.7% in 2000 (down from 14.2% in 1992) and a poverty
rate of 26.1% in 1998 (down from 33.1% in 1993). Median household income
for African American families is up 15.1% (or $3,317) since 1993, and the
poverty rate for African American children is at the lowest level on
record.
? Tax Cuts For Working Families. President Clinton and Vice President
Gore's 1993 Economic Plan provided tax cuts to 15 million hard-pressed
working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The
average family with two children who received the EITC received a tax cut
of $1,026. In 1997, the EITC lifted 1.1 million African Americans out of
poverty. This year the President and Vice President have proposed
expanding the EITC to provide tax relief to 6.4 million additional working
families.
? Increased Minimum Wage. The President raised the minimum wage to $5.15
an hour -- directly benefiting 1.3 million African American workers.
President Clinton and Vice President Gore have called for passage of an
additional $1.00 an hour increase.
IMPROVING OUR NATION'S HEALTH.
? Extended Health Care to Millions of Children with the State Children?s
Health Insurance Program. President Clinton, with bipartisan Congressional
support, provided $24 billion to health care coverage to up to five million
uninsured children. African American children make up 25% of all uninsured
children -- more than twice their percentage of the overall population.
This year, the budget includes several proposals to accelerate enrollment
of children in SCHIP.
? Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities by 2010. President
Clinton's initiative will help eliminate racial disparities in six key
health areas: infant mortality, diabetes, cancer screening and management,
heart disease, AIDS and immunizations. The President and Vice President won
a 200% increase for this initiative in FY 2000, and this year they have
proposed $35 million to continue the effort.
MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES SAFER.
? Funding 50,000 More Community Police Officers. In 1999, ahead of
schedule and under budget, the Clinton-Gore Administration met its
commitment to fund 100,000 police officers for our communities, with
special grants to increase community policing in high-crime and underserved
neighborhoods. In fall 1999, the President won funding for the first
installment toward his goal to hire up to 50,000 more officers by 2005.
This year, the Clinton-Gore budget includes over $1 billion to hire more
officers and new community prosecutors, give police the tools and
technology they need to fight crime, and fund community-wide crime fighting
efforts.
? More than Half a Million Felons, Fugitives and Domestic Abusers Denied
Guns. Since the President signed the Brady Bill into law, more than
536,000 felons, fugitives and domestic abusers have been prevented from
purchasing guns through Brady background checks. Since 1993, violent crime
has fallen by 7% and gun violence has declined by 35%. President Clinton
and Vice President Gore have repeatedly called on Congress to build on the
success of the Brady Law by quickly passing a set of common-sense gun
safety measures designed to keep guns out of the wrong hands and save
lives.
? Reducing Illegal Drug Use. In 1998, the White House Office of Drug
Control Policy launched the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. Last
year, that campaign reached 95% of America's youth 8.3 times a week
through advertising in eleven languages to youth and adults of various
ethnic groups. Illicit drug use among young people age 12-17 declined from
1997 to 1999, and the average age of first-time use went up. Since 1997,
overall youth drug use is down by more than 20 percent, and youth marijuana
use has declined by over 25%.
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES AHEAD. While we have made great progress in
bringing the nation together and building a better future for all
Americans, more remains to be done. The President will call on Congress to
continue the progress of the last 8 years for African Americans by:
? Expanding Civil Rights Enforcement. Because discrimination continues to
be a fact of life in America, the Clinton-Gore Administration has worked to
vigorously enforce the nation?s civil rights laws and to make sure that
civil rights enforcement budgets keep pace with the increasing
responsibility. This year, the President proposed a 13 percent increase in
civil rights enforcement, bringing the federal commitment to more than $1
billion per year. These funds will help the Justice Department expand
investigations and prosecutions of criminal civil rights cases, including
hate crimes, police misconduct cases and housing and lending cases. In
addition, the EEOC will be able to continue reducing its backlog of fair
employment cases, HUD will be able to reduce housing discrimination and the
Departments of Education, Agriculture and Labor will be able to improve and
expand civil rights compliance and enforcement programs. The House has
under-funded the President's request by $133 million, and the Senate by
$105 million. At these funding levels, the EEOC would be unable to pursue
3500 discrimination cases, and fewer federal civil rights cases would be
pursued. The President will call on Congress to meet the nation?s
commitment to civil rights enforcement and fund these important programs.
? Passing Hate Crimes Legislation. President Clinton called for
strengthening Hate Crimes laws in his 1999 and 2000 State of the Union
Addresses. Now, the House and Senate have finally approved strong Hate
Crimes Legislation that would enhance the Federal government's ability to
prosecute violent crimes motivated by race, color, religion, or national
origin and would authorize Federal prosecution of crimes motivated by
sexual orientation, gender, or disability. The President will call on
conferees to stop delay and take action on hate crimes legislation.
? Investing in Education. The Clinton-Gore education strategy of investing
more in our schools while demanding more from them has resulted in
impressive gains for African Americans. African American students are
taking tougher classes, scoring higher on standardized reading and math
tests and going to college at the highest rates ever. Last year, for the
first time, the African American high school graduation rate matched the
rate for whites. This year, the president has proposed key investments to
continue this progress, including expanding after-school opportunities for
2.5 million children, preparing 1.4 million at-risk youth for college
success, providing funding to modernize 6,000 schools and repair 25,000
more over five years, reducing class size, improving teacher quality and
turning around failing schools with a $250 million accountability fund.
With just days away from the end of the fiscal year, Congress has yet to
provide the funds our children need for these priorities. The President
will call on Congress to do the right thing and give our kids the quality
schools they deserve.
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