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Budget '99
Staff Office-Individual:
Speechwriting-Widmer, Edward
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�FOR RELEASE:
Monday, February 2, 1998, 8 a.m.
CONTACT:
Lawrence J. Haas
(202) 395-7254
PRESIDENT CLINTON PROPOSES FIRST BALANCED. BUDGET IN 30 YEARS
Invests in Education, Child Care, Health, Research, Other Priorities;
Reserves Budget Surplus to "Save Social Security First"
Speaking from the East Room of the White House, President Clinton today proposed a
balanced Federal budget for 1999, marking the first balanced budget in 30 years and bringing an
era of exploding deficits to an end.
By reaching balance, the President's budget represents a remarkable turnaround in the
Nation's fiscal policy over the last five years. It brings to an end three decades of fiscal chaos, a
period in which Americans had lost confidence in their Government and the ability of their
leaders to do the people's business.
"We are not only balancing the budget for the first time in a generation, we are reaching
balance three years ahead of the schedule we announced last summer with the Balanced Budget
Act," the President said. "If we maintain our fiscal discipline, we may very well reach balance
this year -- four years ahead of schedule."
.
The President's $1.7 trillion budget for 1999 is not just balanced, it is balanced the right
way. It not only ends the deficit, it reflects the values that Americans hold dear-- the values of
opportunity, responsibility, and community. The budget reflects the President's commitment to
continue helping working families with their basic needs -- to.raise their children, send them to
college, and pay for health care.
· The budget invests in education and training and in research to raise the standard of
living for average Americans. It invests in the environment and in law enforcement to raise the
quality of life across the Nation. It invests in communities at home while providing the ·
resources to maintain a strong defense and conduct the inte~ational relations that have become
so important to the Nation's future.
Reflecting the President's call to "save Social Security first," the budget proposes a
reserve for the projected budget surpluses for 1999 and beyond, pending a solution to the longterm financing challenge facing Social Security.
�Within tight constraints, the President proposes major initiatives to build on his
investments in high-priority areas -- from helping working families with child care to allowing
Americans from 55 to 65 to buy into Medicare; from helping States and school districts reduce
class size by recruiting and preparing 100,000.more teachers and building more classrooms to
addressing global warming. The budget pays for every initiative dollar by dollar.
Challenging times demand innovative solutions, and this budget meets the challenge by
proposing three new investment funds for America -- for research, the environment, and
transportation -- that will focus attention on these critical priorities. Together, the funds provide
$75.5 billion, a $4.7 billion.increase over the 1998 level for the programs they contain. Because
the funds rely on budgetoffsets.to help finance the spending, they, in effect,. apply pay-as-yougo principles to discretionary spending.
The funds are:
•
The Research Fund for America, which includes a broad range of investments in
knowledge, including programs ofthe National Institutes of Health, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Science Foundation, the
National Aeronm,Jtics and Space Administration, the Energy Department, the
Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Agriculture Department research programs, the multi-agency Climate Change
Technology Initiative, and other programs. The budget finances this Fund, in
part, through receipts from tobacco legislation and savings in mandatory
programs.
•
The Environmental Resources Fund for America, which encompasses the multiagency Clean Water Initiative; the new Land, Water, and Facility Restoration
Initiative of the Interior and Agriculture Departments; the Agriculture
Department's w~ter. and wastewater program for rural communities; and the
Environmental Protection Agency's programs for cleaning up hazardous waste
sites (within the Superfund) and upgrading cl~an water and safe drinking water
infrastructure. The budget finances the Fund, in part, through an extension of
Federal taxes that support the Superfund.
•
The Transportation Fund for America, which includes the Transportation
Department's highway, highway safety, and transit programs; the Flight 2000 free
flight demonstration program; and the Federal Aviation Administration's
programs, including Airport Grants. The.budget finances the Fund, in part,
through a new Federal aviation user fee.
,.
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The budget continues the President's efforts to reduce the size and scope of Government.
This budget is the smallest Federal budget, as a share of the economy, in 25 years. To date, the
Administration has cut the civilian Federal workforce by over 316,000 employees, giving us the
smallest workforce in 35 years and, as a share of total civilian employment, the smallest since
1931.
�But the Administration set out to do more than cut Government. Under the· leadership of
the Vice President's National Performance Review, it sought to make Government work, to
create a Government that is more efficient and effective, to create a Government focused on its
customers, the American people. The Administration has reinvented parts of departments and ·
agencies. Now, it proposes to turn agencies around from top to bottom. For 1999, the Vice
President will lead an effort ~o improve the performance of agencies that interact most with the
·
American people.
Under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act, Cabinet departments and
agencies h,ave prepared individual performance plans that they will send to Congress with the
performance goals they plan to meet in 1999. These plans, in turn, form the basis for the first
Government-wide performance plan, which the Administration is sending Congress along with
this budget.
Investing in Education and Training: Nothing is more important to America's future
than education. It has become the dividing line between those who are moving ahead and those
who are lagging behind. That is why the President has devoted so much effort to ensure that we
have a world-class system of education and training in place for Americans of all ages. Over the
last five years, the President has worked hard to ensure that every boy and girl is prepared to
learn, that schools focus on high standards and achievement, that anyone who wants to go to
college can get the financial help to attend, and that those who need a second chance at
education and training or a chance to improve or learn skills can do so~
The budget significantly increases funds to help children, especially in the poorest
communities, reach challenging academic standards and makes further prog~ess in implementing
voluntary national tests. It proposes to payfor 100,000 more teachers and build more
classrooms in order to reduce class size. For higher education and training, the budget increases
Pell Grants and other college scholarships from the record levels already achieved; expands
College Work-Study to a record one million students; streamlines student loan programs and
cuts student fees; and expands access to job'placement services, training, and related services for
dislocated workers and others. Now that anyone who wants to attend college cah find the means
through Hope scholarships, Pell Grants, and other assistance that the Administration has worked
so hard to enact, the President wants to provide the same universal opportunity for job training
and re-training to those who need it.
Supporting' Working Families: Over the last five years, the President has worked hard
to help working families. Working with Congress, the Administration-has cut taxes for 15
million working families, provided a tax credit to help families raise their children, ensured that
25 million Americans a year can change jobs withoutlosing their health insurance, made it
easier for the self-employed and those with pre-existing conditions to get health insurance,
provided health care coverage for up to five million uninsured children, raised the minimum
wage, and provided guaranteed time off for workers who need to care for a newborn or address
.
the health needs of a family member.
'
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�Now, with his new Child Care Initiative, the President is determined to provide the help
that families need when it comes to finding safe, high-quality, affordable child care. Parents
should know that, when they go to work, their children are in safe, healthy environments. The
President also proposes to address the problems faced by a particular group of working families -legal immigrants. In signing the 1996 welfare reform law, the President said that he would try
to restore the cuts in benefits for legal immigrants that were not only harsh and unnecessary but
that had nothing to do with the fundamental goal of welfare reform -- to mo~e people from
welfare to work while protecting children. The budget restores Food Stamps to'730,000 lega~
immigrants and let States provide health insurance to the children of legal immigrants.
Strengthening Health Care: . This past year, the President improved 'the health care of
millions of Americans. Working with Congress, the Administration strengthened Medicare by
extending the life of the trust fund until at least 2010 while investing in preventive benefits,
introducing more choice of health plans, and strengthening the expanding array of activities to
combat fraud and abuse. In addition, the Administration extended health care coverage to up. to
five million uninsured children, created the Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and
Quality in the Health Care Industry, and later endorsed the Commission's Health Care Consumer
Bill of Rights.
With this budget, the President proposes to build on these achievements on a host of
important fronts. The President wants to work with Congress to enact national bipartisan
tobacco legislation; nothing is more pote~tially important to the health of our people,
particularly children. Th,e budget also proposes to expand health care coverage for some of the
most vulnerable Americans aged 55 to 65, to enroll more eligible children in Medicaid, to
provide for unprecedented levels of investment in health research, to expand access to powerful
AIDS therapies, to expand access to cancer clinical trials, to increase funds for substance abuse
treatment and prevention, and to help reduce health-related disparities across racial and ethnic
groups.
a
Protecting the Environment: Last year was remarkable one for the environment, and
the President is determined to build on the progress. Led by the Vice President, the
Administration reached an historic international agreement in Kyoto that calls for cuts in
greenhouse gas emissions. The Administration also issued new, more protective air quality
standards to better safeguard public health; strengthened our· citizens' right to know about toxic
chemical releases; continued to protect our natural treasures, such as Yellowstone National Park
and Florida's Everglades; and made further progress toward the President's goal of cleaning up
900 hazardous waste sites under the Superfund by the end of the year 2001.
The budget proposes an Environmental Resources Fund for America that will support
·increases for many key environmental programs. It provides for more construction, .
maintenance, and land acquisition for national parks, forests, refuges, and other public lands; for
a new effort to improve the quality of our water; for improvements to community drinking water
and wastewater facilities; and for contin~ing the Administration's efforts to clean up abandoned
hazardous waste sites. The budget includes a five-year $6 billion program to prevent global
warming, and more resources to protect endangered species, control pollution, and preserve the
�global environment.
Investing in Infrastructure: The President proposes a Transportation Fund for America,
reflecting his commitment to provide the resources to ensure that our transportation
infrastructure remains safe, integrated, and efficient enough to serve our growing needs.
Investment in infrastructure is good for America because it helps grow the economy, improve
safety and public health, strengthen our competitiveness abroad, support our national security,
and increase the mobility, access, and choice for Americans who need to travel.
The President believes that we must build upon our vast network of roads, highways, and
bridges to meet the demands of the next century for a system that links our various modes of
travel, that is cleaner and safer, and that heips bring together and support our urban and rural
communities. The budget maintains the Administration's record support for transportation, and
the Fund includes all of the Transportation Department's highway, highway safety, transit, and
air transportation programs.
Promoting Research: Scientific and technological advances have created a world vastly
different from the one our grandparents knew. They have helped generate huge leaps in the
speed and economy of transportation, enormous increases in farm productivity, lightning-fast
flows of information and services across national borders, and advances in treating and
preventing diseases and protecting the environment.
· Because the President is committed to America's continued leadership in science and
technology, the budget proposes a Research Fund for America, from which many important .
Federal investments will flow. It includes record increases for the National Institutes of Health, ·
higher funding for the National Science Foundation, new resources to address global climate
change, and a wide variety of investments in basic and applied res·earch. These investments are
vital; they help the Nation to create new knowledge, train more workers, spur new jobs and
·
industries, address our health care challenges, strengthen our understanding of environmental
problems, better educate our children, and maintain a strong national defense.
Enforcing the Law: The. President's anti-crime strategy is working. Serious crime is
down five years in a row and, in 1996, the Nation witnessed the largest drop in violent crime in
35 years. But, because crime remains unacceptably high, the President believes that we must go
further.
The budget expands the Administration's community policing (COPS) program, which is
already putting 83,000 more police on the streets toward the President's goal of 100,000 by the
year 2000. The budget also proposes a new Community Prosecutors Initiative to help
prosecutors prevent crimes from occurring, rather than simply prosecuting criminals after the
fact. And it provides the necessary funds to prevent violence against women, to help States and
Indian Tribes build prisons, and to address the growing law enforcement crisis on Indian lands.
To boost the Administration's efforts to control illegal immigration, the budget provides the
resources to strengthen border enforcement in the South and West, to remove illegal aliens, and
to expand efforts to verify whether newly hired non-citizens are eligible for jobs. To combat
drug use, particularly among young people, the budget expands programs that stress treatment
�and prevention, law enforcel)lent, international assistance, and interdiction. It builds on the
Administration's innovative Drug Courts iriitiatiye, proposes School Drug Prevention
Coordinators for schools, supports local efforts that target drug-using offenders, expands drug
testing, and strengthens the Administration's efforts to make ports and borders more secure from
drugs while disrupting drug trafficking organizations overseas.
Strengthening the American Community: Most Americans are enjoying the fruits of
our strong economy. But while many urban and rural areas are·doing better, too many others
have grown disconnected from our values of opportunity, responsibility, a.ild community.
Working with State and local governments and the private sector, the President is determined to
help bring distressed areas back to life, to replace despair with hope.
The budge~ expands the President's na:tional service program, giving more Americans the
chance to serve their country and help solve problems at the local level while earning money for
college. The budget proposes to create more Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities
that offer tax incentives and direct spending to· encourage the kind of private investment that
creates jobs, and to provide more capital for lending through the President's Community
Development Financial Institutions program. The budget also expands opportunities for
homeownership, provides more. funds to enforce the Nation's civil rights laws, maintains the
Administration's Government-to-Government commitment to Native Americans, and
strengthens the partnership that the President has begun with the District of Columbia.
Advancing United States Leadership in the World: ·Because America continues to have
a tremendous stake in world affairs, the budget proposes the necessary funds to maintain national
security, to conduct our diplomacy, to promote democracy and free markets abroad, and to
increase exports. Last year, the Administration worked with Congress to increase international
affairs spending. But, Congress faces an unfinished agenda to provide financial support for, and
fulfill America's obligations to, a number of international organizations that benefit our
economy and serve other objectives, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
United Nations system, and the multilateral development banks.
j
Congress should continue to support the decisive action of the IMF as well.as our
leadership in that institution by providing the supplementary contingent IMF funding that the
Administration has sought and replenishing the IMF's basic financial resources. Congress also
should give the President traditional trade negotiating authority to help fuel our surging exports
into the next century. To enhance national security, the budget maintains large-scale funding to
support the Middle East peace process, continues assistance to Bosnia to carry out the Dayton
Accords, supports NATO expansion, and increases aid to the New Independent States of the
former Soviet Union to support the development of democracy and. free markets. The budget
also proposes a major initiative to provide critical, targeted assistance to Mrican countries that
are undertaking difficult economic reforms, increases counter-narcotics aid to Latin American
countries, and supports the Summit of the Americas ..
�Supporting the World's Strongest Military Force: Our military serves as the backbone
of our national security strategy, and the President is committed to maintain a strong and capable
military that protects our freedoms and our global leadership role as we approach the 21st
Century.
The budget continues the Administration's ,plari to complete the careful resizing of our
military forces, to fully support military readiness, to strengthen quality of life programs for our
armed forces, and to provide increased funding to modernize our forces as new technologies
become available after the turn of the century. The budget reflects the recommendations of the
Quadrennial Defense· Review and of the Defense Department's recent Defense Reform Initiative .
to achieve a leaner, more efficient, and more cost-effective organization by improving
management and business practices. To implement these improvements, the Defense
Department will send legislation to Congress in conjunction with this budget, including a request
for two more rounds of base closures and realignments.
�PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FY 1999 BALANCED BUDGET
THE FIRST BALANCED BUDGET IN 30 YEARS
Summary Document: February 2, 1998
THE FIRST BALANCED BUDGET IN THREE DECADES. The President's
FY99 budget maintains our fiscal discipline while investing in the critical needs of
our people. In only the second year of the historic balanced budget agreement that
included $900 billion in net 10-year deficit savings and nearly half a trillion dollars in
entitlement savings over 10 years, the President's plan reaches balance three years
earlier. And it does so by paying for every initiative dollar by dollar consistent with
the 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement.
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MAINTAINING OUR FISCAL DISCIPLINE AND INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE. This
budget builds on the President's record of fiscal discipline. In 1992, the deficit was $290 billion,
job growth was weak, and the unemploym~nt rate was 7. 5. percent. The President's 1993
Economic Plan helped cut the deficit 92 percent, from $290 billion in 1992 to $23 billion in
1997-- its lowest level since 1974. This year, our deficit is projected to be $10 billion, and .
heading lower. The economy has produced over 14 million new jobs; and the unemployment
rate is as low as it has been in 24 years:
•
This budget implements the historic balanced budget agreement reached last
year with Congress. This is the second year of the budget agreement which
included $900 billion in net 10-year deficit savings and nearly half a trillion dollars in
entitlement savings over 10 years.
•
In a historic shift, this budget delivers surpluses over the next ten years of $1.1
trillion in surpluses -- reserved pending Social Security Reform.
•
Everything is paid for dollar by dollar consistent with the 1997 Balanced Budget
Agreement and President Clinton's successful record of fiscal discipline.
SOCIAL SECURITY FIRST
•
Over the next two years, President Clinton is firmly committed to strengthening
Social Security for the 21st century. He therefore proposes that we should not
spend any of the projected budget surpluses on anything else until we have reformed
Social Security. This proposal, which continues the fiscally responsible policies that
have been the hallmark ofthis.Administration, is intended to reserve the surpluses in
case they are needed for Social Security reform.
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE. The President's budget maintains our critical priorities by
increasing our investments in health care, education and tra,ining, the environment and science
and technology. It also establishes important new initiatives, which are all paid for, to help
�prepare America for the 21st century.
Education/Training/Child Care:
• Class Size. Aims to Reduce class size to 18 in grades 1-3 by funding 100,000
·'
new teachers by 2005.
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• Head Start. Increases Head Start funding by $305 million for FY99; Head Start
has
· mcreas
ed
68%,
from
$2.8
billion
m
FY93
to $4.7
billion
m
•
•
·•
•
FY99.
In
additio
n, the
numbe
r of
slots in
Early
Head
Start is
double
dover
the
next 5
years.
After-School Programs. To provide after-school care for 500,000 children per
year, the budget includes an $800 million five-year investment to expand the 21st
Century Community Learning Center program ..
· $7.5'Billion Child Care Block Grant Over 5 Years. Doubles the number of
low-income families who receive child care subsidies to more than 2 million by
the year 2003.
Child Care and Early Learning. Establishes an Early Learning Fund with $3
billion over five years to provide grants to communities to promote early
childhood development and improve child care quality 'for young children.
Education Opportunity Zones. $1.5 billion over five years for competitive
grants to about 50 urban and rural districts who adopt a school reform agenda to
increase student learning and implement ~ccountability measures.
�•
Dislocated Workers. Increases funding in FY99 by $100 million to $1.5 billion
--nearly tripling the funding since FY93. Provides services to nearly 700,000
dislocated workers.
Health Care:
• Consumer Bill of Rights. Protects patients by guaranteeing access to needed
health care specialists, acd~ss to emergency room services, an assurance that
medical records are confidential, and access to a meaningful appeals process for
to resolve differences with health plans and health care providers.
• Biomedical Research. Provides unprecedented increases of more than $1.1
billion of biomedical research with an emphasis on cancer research
• Ryan White AIDS program. Invests $165 million more in the to find ways to
prevent and treat diseases -- increasing funding 241% since FY 1993.
• Expanding Medicare Coverage. Provides new options for Americans ages 55
to 65 to obtain health insurance by
buying into Medicare through a
pr~mium that ensures that this policy
is self-fmanced.
Environment:
• Initiative To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions. A dramatic new $6.3 program of
tax cuts and R&D aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Package contains
$3.6 billion in tax 1
cuts for energy efficient purchases and renewable energy, and
$2.7 billion in additional R&D spending.
• Clean Water Initiative. Targets the 40% of the nation's waterways.still unsafe
for fishing and swimming by assisting states and communities in implementing
programs and incentives to adopt practices that protect water quality.
�Community Empowerment:
• Welfare-to-Work Housing Vouchers. Includes $283 million for 50,000 new
vouchers for people who need housing assistance to make transition from
welfare to employment.
• Flexible Funding for Second-Round Empowerment Zones. Provides $150
million over ten years in mandatory· funding for second-round urban and rural
EZs. Funds could be usedfor economic development and housing projects,
project-based rental assistance, job training and other social services.
• CDFI Expansion. The Administration is requesting a $45 million increase in
CDFI funding (from $80 million to $125 million). The increased funding also
would be used in part to accelerate development of a secondary market for
CDFI loans.
• Community Empowerment Fund. $400 million community empowerment
fund that will help local governments attract more businesses and jobs to poor and
.underserved neighborhoods by encouraging the standardization of economic .
development lending, a first step in creating a secondary market for such loans. It
will provide capital to businesses who recognize the potential and the possibilities
of the inner cities.
Drugs
•
COPS. Funds i?,OOO more police, helping to move towards the President's goal
, of 100,000 new police by the year 2000.
• $1 Billion Increase in Anti-Drug Budget. Budget proposes to increase funding
to $16.9 billion in FY99 consisting of increases in drug treatment, prevention,
domestic law enforcement, interdiction, and international programs.
• Community Prosecutors. Budget provides grants of $100 million for hundreds
of communities to hire as many as 1,000 new prosecutors.
• Juvenile Crime Strategy. Calls ·on Congress to pass a $245 billion
comprehensive anti-gang and youth violence strategy including preventing under
21 s from buying guns, new prosecutors and probation officers, tough, new
sentences on drug dealers, funding to keep schools open later and promote antitruancy initiatives and curfews.
TAX CUTS TARGETED TO THE NEEDS OF WORKING FAMILIES:
The President's budget provides about $24.6 billion of tax cuts over five years to:
•
Making Child Care More Affordable. (1) The Child and Dependent Care Tax
Credit would be increased for 3 million working families, wiping out income tax
liability for most families with incomes below 200% of the poverty line (about
35,000 for a family of four) who have maximum allowable child care expenses. (2)
A 25% tax credit for building, operating or contracting costs is also created to
encourage .businesses to provide child care for their employees.
•
Climate Change Initiative-- Increasing Energy Efficiency and Improving the
Environment: (1) Tax credits of $3,000 to $4,000 for fuel efficient cars; (2) tax
credits of up to $2000 for rooftop solar systems and new energy efficient homes; (3)
�•
•
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a five-year extension of the tax credit for electricity produced by wind and biomass.
Promoting Expanded Retirement Savings: (1) A three-year tax credit of up to
$2,000 for small businesses that establi.sh pension plans;· (2) a new, simplified
defined benefit plan for small businesses and (3) and enhancing workers' ability to
make contributions to IR.As by payroll deduction.
Expanding Education Incentives: (1) School Construction-- federal tax credits to
pay interest on nearly $22 billion in bonds to build and modernize over 5,000 public
schools; (2) Employer-Provided Educational Assistance --Extends and e{(pands this
tax exclusion.
Expanding and Improving the Supply of Available Low-Income Housing. Calls
for increasing the per capita cap on the credit 40% which will mean 150,000 to
180,000 additional rental housing units in the next five years.
�PRESIDENT CLINTON'S RECORD
ON DEFICIT REDUCTION
•
CUT THE DEFICIT BY 92 PERCENT. President Clinton has reduced the budget deficit
by 92 percent -- from $290 billion in FY 1992 to $22 billion in FY 1997. This year the
budget deficit is projected to be $10 billion and heading lower. [Based on data from OMS," FY
1999 Budget, February 1998.]
•
LOWEST DEFICIT SINCE 1970 AND FIRST PROPOSED BALANCED BUDGET
· SINCE 1969. The deficit has fallen from 4.7 percent of GDP in FY 1992 to 0.3 percent in
FY 1997 -- the lowest for any year since 1970. [Based on data from OMS, FY 1999 Budget, February
1998.]
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•
LOWEST DEFICIT OF ANY MAJOR ECONOMY EXCEPT FOR CANADA.· The
total U.S. deficit in 1997 as a percentage of the economy was lower than for any other
major country except for Canada: [OECD, Economic Outlook, December 1997.]
•
MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE EFFICIENT. Federal employment has fallen by .
318,000 from its 1993 base and is at its lowest level in three decades. [Based on data from
OMS, FY 1999 Budget, February 1998.]
AS A RESULT OF PRESIDENT CLINTON'S EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE DEFICIT,
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE HAS IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY:
•
LOWER INTEREST RATES LEADING TO INVESTMENT BOOM. President
Clinton's 1993 Economic Plan cut the deficit and helped cut long-term interest rates and
strengthen the economy. Under President Clinton, the 30-year interest rate has
averaged 6.9 percent-- down from 8.2 percent under Pres~dent Bush and 10.3 percent
under President Reagan. And with lower interest rates, businesses have invested in the
future: business investment has grown by 11 percent per year under President Clinton -faster than any Administration since John F. Kennedy was President. [Based on data from the
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce.]
•
EMPLOYMENT BOOM. Since January 1993, the economy has added more than 14
million new jobs -- including nearly 2 million new jobs in manufacturing and.
construction combined. [Based on data from the ~ureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.]
•
THE LOWEST COMBINED RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION
SINCE 1967: In 1997, the combined rate ofunempioyment and inflation will the lowest
in 30 years. And under President Clinton the combined rate of unemployment and
inflation has been the lowest since Lyndon Johnson was· President. [Based on data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.]
�EXPERTS AGREE THAT ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN REMARKABLE:
Business Week: "Clinton's 1993 budget cuts, which reduced projected red ink by more
than $400 billion over five years, sparked a major drop in interest rates that helped
boost investment in all the equipment and systems that brought forth the New Age
economy of technological innovation and rising productivity." [5/19/97]
Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Chainnan, 2/20/96: The deficit reduction in the
President's 1993 Economic Plan was "an unquestioned factor in contributing to the
improvement in economic activity that occurred thereafter."
�THE FACTS ON GOYERNMENT SPENDING
UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON
.SPENDING IS LOWER TODAY THAN UNDER REAGAN OR BUSH:
•
FEDERAL SPENDING WAS LOWER IN 1997 --AND IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN
LOWER IN 1998 --THAN IN ANY YEAR SINCE 1974. Federal outlays as a share of
GDP in 1997 were 20.1 percent --lower than in any year since 1974. And current
projections suggest a slight decrease in outlays as a percent of GDP during 1998 .. Outlays as
a share of GDP under President Clinton have been a smaller 'share of GDP than under
Reagan or Bush. [Based on data from OMB, FY 1999 Budget, February 1998.] .
=> SPENDING GROWTH LOWER UNDER CLINTON THAN uNDER REAGAN OR BUSH
Federal outlays
(o/oofGDP)
Real growth in Federal outlays
(percent per year)
CLINTON
20.1
[1997]
0.5
BUSH
22.5
[1992]
2.6
REAGAN
22.5
[1988]
2.6
[Based on data from OMB, FY 1999 Budget, February 1998.]
•
SINCE PASSAGE OF PRESIDENT CLINTON'S 1993 DEFICIT REDUCTION
PACKAGE, EXPECTED GOVERNMENT SPENDING BETWEEN 1993 AND 2002
HAS FALLEN BY MORE THAN $1.8 TRILLION. Compared to the spending path
President Clinton inherited in 1993, total spending in 2002 is now projected to fall by 19
percent. [Based on data from OMB, FY 1999 Budget, February 1998.]
•
GROWTH IN TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING HAS BEEN LOWER UNDER
CLINTON THAN UNDER REAGAN OR BUSH. Real Federal outlays have grown by
0.5 percent per year under President Clinton --lower than under President Bush·(2.6 percent
per year) or President Reagan (2.6 percent per year). [Based on data from OMB,FY 1999 Budget,
February 1998.]
•
WHILE MAINTAINING CRUCIAL INVESTMENTS IN PEOPLE, REAL
DISCRETIONARY SPENDING HAS FALLEN UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON-- A
BETTER RECORD THAN UNDER REAGAN OR BUSH. Real discretionary outlays
have fallen two percent per year under President Clinton --under President Bush or Reagan
real discretionary outlays increased one percent a year. [Based on data from OMB, FY 1998 Budget,
. February 1997.] ·
•
NON-DEFENSE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING IS NOW A SMALLER SHARE OF
THE ECONOMY THAN IN 11 OF THE 12 YEARS UNDER REAGAN OR BUSH.
Non-defense discretionary outlays are now lower than in 11 of the 12 Reagan-Bush years.
�Non-defense discretionary outlays are expected to equal 3.4 percent of GDP in 1998. During
all the Reagan-Bush years, this ratio dropped this low only once in 1989. · [Based on data from
O:MB, FY 1999 Budget, February 1998.]
�L
SOCIAL SECURITY
THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM. Since its inception in 1935, the Social Security system
has proven to be an outstanding success in providing security for the retired and disabled, as well
as their families. The elderly poverty rate has fallen from more than 35 percent in 1959 to just
10.8 percent in 1996. It currently provides benefits to about 45·million Americans, and keeps
roughly 15 million of them out of poverty. And Social Security benefits represent more than 75
percent of income for eldetly households in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution.
THE LONG-RUN CHALLENGE. The Social Security system, however, is expected to face
increasing strains, because the retirement of the baby boomers means that the number of retirees
is expected to grow much faster than the number of workers. There are currently just over 3
workers who contribute for every Social Security beneficiary. By 2030, it is expected that there
will be only 2 workers for every Social Security beneficiary. According to the intermediate
projection of the Social Security Trustees Report, the retirement ofthe.baby boomers is expected
to cause the Social Security Trust Fund to start falling by 2019, and tq be depleted by 2029 -after which the Social Security system would be able to finance only 75 percent of current law
benefits.
PRESIDENT CLINTON'S APPROACH TO SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM. President
Clinton is strongly committed to strengthening Social Security over the next two years. His plan
includes:
(1) Putting Our Fiscal House in Order. Before we could begin to address the long-run
problems in Social Security, we first had to put our fiscal house in order. Under President
Clinton's leadership, we have now done that. The budget deficit has fallen from $290 billion in
1992 to $22 billion last year, and President Clinton's FY 1999 budget will produce balance by
next year.
(2) Surpluses Reserved Pending Social Security Reform. As thePresident emphasized in his
State of the Union address,. the projected budget surpluses should be reserved pending Social
Security reforrri. Until we address the critical challenge of strengthening the Social Security
system and ensuring retirement and disability security for America's hcvd-working families, the
Administration believes that we should not use the projected surpluses for anything else.
(3) Bipartisan Regional Conferences in 1998. The President believes 1998 should be used
to engage Americans in an inclusive national debate about Social Security refotrn. He
challenges every American to attend a conference or forum on the issue -- or to organize and
host one if there aren't any planned in a given area. The President has asked the AARP and the
Concord Coalition to convene bipartisan and balanced regional conferences. The President or
Vice President will attend three to four of these conferences, and will also .be hosting a
conference on private retirement savings in July. The President and Vice President also
encourage other groups to organize conferences. The national dialogue should allow all
Americans to express their views, and hear the views of others.
(4) White House Conference. At the end of the year, the President will host a bipartisan White
�House Conference on Social Security as a culmination of the various conferences, forums, and
discussions held throughout the year. The purpose of the White House conference is to bring.
together the lessons learned from the national dialogue.
(5) Bipartisan Negotiations in January 1999. Following the White House conference at the
end of the year, the President and his team will begin negotiations in January J 999 with the
bipartisan Congressional leadership over Social Security reform. The President is firmly
committed to strengthening the Social Security system.
�PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FY 1999 BALANCED BUDGET
TAX RELIEF FOR WORKING FAMlLIES
A RECORD OF TAX RELIEF FOR WORKING FAMILIES. Beginning with the tax cut for 15 million
working families in 1993, Plesident Clinton has delivered tax relief to make it easier for working families to
raise their children and send them to college. The new $500 Child Tax Credit the President pushed for a.n"d
signed into law last year will help 27 million working families .. The President's $1,500 HOPE Scholarship
advances his goal of making access to two years of colleg~ universal. His Lifetime Learning Tax Credit will
help 7.1 million college juniors and seniors, graduate students and working Americans upgrade their skills
and education. Because of this strong recorq, the typical working family of four making the median income
now faces the lightest federal tax burden in decades:
Consider a middle incomeJamily offour making about $53,720 this year. When President Clinton took
office, this family paid 16.8 cents on each dollar of income to the federal government to cover income
and payroll taxes. Since then, this tax burden has fallen, so that this year, the typical middle-income
family will pay 15.5 cents on each dollar of income to the federal government -- the lowest federal tax
rate in 20 years . .And this burden will fall even further next year, as it reaches 15.1 percent.
The budget takes the next step and provides $24.6 billion over five years and $56 billion over ten years
in tax relief to:
MAKING CHILD CARE MORE AFFORDABLE.
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The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit would be increased for 3 million working families, wiping
out income tax liability for most families with incomes below 200% of the poverty line (about $35,000
for. a family of four) who have maximum allowable child care expenses. These families will receive an
average annual tax cut of $330 at a cost of $5.2 billion over five years.
New Business Tax Credits. The budget also invests one-half billion dollars over five years in a 25' ·
percent tax credit (up to $150,000) for annual building; acquisition, operational or contracting costs to
encourage businesses to provide child care for their employees.
INCREASING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT. The budget contains
$3.6 billion over the next 5 years in tax cuts for energy efficient purchases and renewable energy:
•
Tax Credits For Fuel Efficient Cars ..The tax package includes tax credits of $3,000 and $4,000 for
consumers who purchase advanced-technology, highly fuel efficient vehicles-- expected to total $660
million over the next five years.
•
Tax Credits For Rooftop Solar Systems. Another tax provision. provides a 15 percent credit (up to
$2,000) for purchases of rooftop solar equipment-- to provide incentives for meeting the Million Solar
Roofs goal.
•
Other Tax Credits For Energy Efficiency. The tax cuts also include a 20 percent credit (subject to a
cap) for purchasing energy-efficient building equipment, a credit of up to $2,000 for purchasing energyefficient new homes, an extension of the wind and biomass tax credit, and a 10 percent investment credit
for the purchase of combined heat and power systems.
�PROMOTING EXPANDED RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
ct
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Payroll Deduction IRAs. Contributions ofup to $2,000 made to an IRA through a payroll deduction
would be excluded from the employee's income for tax purposes.
Tax Credit for Small Businesses. To encourage and help small businesses establish pension plans for
their employees, the budget also includes a three year tax credit. For the first year of the plan, the credit
would be 50 percent of up to $2,000 in administrative and retirement education expenses associated with
a new defined benefit plan (including the new SMART plan described below); 401(k), SIMPLE or other
pension plan or payroll deduction IRA arrangement. For each of the second and third years, the credit
would be 50 percent of up to $1,000 in such costs. The payroll deduction IRA and the tax credit cost
$508 million over five years and $945 million over ten years.
A New Simpl~fied Defined Benefit Plan for Small Businesses. The budget also includes a new
simplified defined benefit plan for small businesses. This new pension choice, the SMART plan, is
designed to be easy to administer and to provide a guaranteed pension benefit to all eligible employees.
The proposal costs $304 million over five years and $555 million over ten years.
EXPANDING EDUCATION INCENTIVES.
School Construction. To spur construction and rehabilitation of our public schools, the President proposes
Federal tax credits to pay interest on nearly $22 billion in bonds at a cost of $5 billion over five years and
$11.6 billion over ten years. Two types of bonds would be authorized: 1) School Modernization Bondsspecial 15 year bonds with half targeted to the 100 school districts with the largest number of low-income
children and the other half allocated to states; 2) 'Qualified Zone Academy Bonds --bonds enacted last
year, that encourage public school-business partnerships in high poverty areas, would be expanded.
Employer Provided Education Assistance. The budget also extends and expand~ the tax exclusion for
employer-provided educational assistance. The current exclusion for assistance with undergraduate
education is extended for one year to cover courses that begin before June 1, 2001. The tax exclusion is also
expanded to assistance with graduate education. This proposal costs $1 billion over both five and ten y~ars.
INCREASING THE LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT. To expand and improve the supply of
available low income housing, the budget raises the allocation of tax credits to states. Currently, the amount
of credits a state can award annually is limited to $1.25 per capita. The President proposes to raise that limit
to $1.75 per capita beginning in 1999 at a cost of $1.6 billion over five years and $6.7 billion over ten years.
This increase will lead to an additional 150,000 to 180,000 units of affordable housing over five years.
EXTENDING KEY TAX INCENTIVES TO HELP. CLEAN UP DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES, MOVE
PEOPLE FROM WELFARE TO WORK AND·ENCOURAGE RESEARCH AND
EXPERIMENTATION:
•
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Expensing of Brownfields Remediation Costs. The budget would make permanent this tax
incentive that allows certain environmental remediation costs to be immediately deducted.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Set to expire on June 30, 1998, the budget extends this credit to
cover employees who begin work before May 1, 2000.
Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit. Designed to encourage employers to hire long-term family assistance
recipients, this important credit would be extended for one year and would cover employees who
begin work before May 1, 2000.
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R & E Tax Credit. To encourage research and experimentation, this credit would be extended for ,
one year through June 30, 1999.
TAX CUTS ARE PAID FOR WITH REDUCTIONS IN UNWARRANTED TAX BENEFITS.
For example, the budgetproposes thatfirms allocate their export profits between domestic and foreign
source income in proportion to their activity in the United States and abroad, to raise $6.6 billion over five
years. ·The budget also proposes to modify reserve rules for annuity contracts and modify corporate
owned life insurance rules to more closely reflect the actual economics.
't .. ,
�PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FY 1999 BALANCED BUDGET
EDUCATION: PREPARING OUR CHILDREN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
MAINTAINING OUR COMMITMENT TO MAKING EDUCATION OUR NUMBER
ONE PRIORITY. Building on the historic balanced budget agreement in 1997 w~ich secured
the largest education investment in 30 years and the largest investment in higher education since
the G.I. Bill in 1945, the President's FY 1999 budget includes the following:
•
Small Classes with Qualified Teachers to Improve Reading in Grades 1-3. President
Clinton is proposing a $12.4 billion initiative over 7 years ($7 .3 billion over 5 years) to help
local schools provide small classes with qualified teachers in the early grades. This initiative
will help ensure that every child receives p~rsonal attention, learns to read independently,
and gets a solid foundation for further learning. The new initiative will reduce class size
from a nationwide average of 22 in grades 1-3 to an average of 18, providing funds to help
local school districts hire an additional 100,000 well-prepared teachers. ·The initiative will
also provide funds to states and local school districts to test new teachers, develop more
rigorous teacher testing and certification requirements, and train teachers in effective reading
instruction practices. School districts will be accountable for demonstrating gains in reading
achievement.. These steps will help ens~re that first through third grade students are receiving
high..:quality reading instruction in smaller classes from competent teachers.
•
Modern School Buildings to Improve Student Learning. For students to learn, schools
must be well-equipped and be able to accommodate smaller class sizes. To address these and
other critical heeds, President Clinton is proposing federal tax credits to pay interest on
nearly $22 billion in bonds to build and renovate public schools. This initiative provides
more than double the assistance of the Administration's earlier school construction proposal,
which covered half the interest on an estimated $20 billion in bonds. The tax credits will
cost the Treasury $5 billion over 5 years, and more than $10 billion over ten years. Of the
$22 billion in bond authority, nearly $20 billion for a new School Modernization Bonds.
Half of this bond authority will be allocated to the 100 school districts with the largest
number of low-income children, and the other half will be allocated to the states.
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Education Opportunity Zones: Helping Students in Poor Communities Reach High
Standards. This initiative will strengthen public schools and help students master the basic and
advanced skills where the need is greatest: in high-poverty urban and rural communities where
low expectations, too many poorly prepared teachers, and overwhelmed schoolsystems create
significant barriers to high achievement. The Education Department will select approximately
fifty high-poverty urban and rural school districts with: (1) a demonstrated commitment to use
high standards and tests as tools to identify and provide help to students, teachers and schools
who need it; (2) a strategy to prevent students from (ailing behind by ensuring quality teaching,
challenging curricula, and extended learning time; (3) programs to end social promotion and turn
·around failing schools; and (4) evidence of improved student achievement. Added investments in
these communities will accelerate their progress and provide models of successful, standardsbased reform for the nation. The President's initiative will invest $200 million in FY99, and $1.5
billion ONer 5 years, in raising achievement and sharing lessons learned with school districts
around the country.
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After-School Learning Opportunities. The FY99 Budget includes a five-year, $1 billion
investment in school-community partnerships that create or expand before- and after-school
programs. The Department ofEducation's 21st Century Learning Center Program, funded at $40
million in FY98, would be expanded to $200 million per year. With a local matching
requirement --aided by a $55 million gift from the C.S. Mort Foundation-- this initiative will
leverage a total of $2 billion overall for after-school programs.
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Reduce and Eliminate Student Loan Fees. Saving students $3 billion over five years, the
budget will phase out the fees that students pay on need-based loans (about 60 percent of all
student loans), and will reduce fees on other loans by 25 percent. Until1993, sti.Jderits lost up to
8 percent of their loans in fees to intermediaries and to the Federal government. Already reduced
to 4 percent as a result of reforms enacted in 1993, the Administration's new plan would reduce
fees on all loans to 3 percent in 1999, and on need-based loans to 2 percent in 2001, 1 percent in
2002, and eliminated completely in 2003.
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Work-Study. The Budget includes a $70 million increase in funding for the Federal WorkStudy program, bringing the total number of participants to just over one million in the 19992000 school year-- reaching that goal one year, earlier than planned. This represents a nearly 50
percent funding increase since 1996.
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Education Technology. The President's FY 1999 budget includes an increase of $137 million
over the 1998 level to ensure that all children have access to the Internet, That teachers know
how to use technology effectively, and to broaden access to high quality learning opportunities
for adults using the Internet and other new technologies.
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Teacher Training in Technology. This program will ensure that all new teachers entering
the workforce can integrate technology effectively into the curriculum and can understand
new styles of teaching and learning enabled by technology.
Learning Anytime, Anywhere Initiative. This initiative makes it easier for Americans who
live in remote, rural areas, have a disability, or have competing family and work demands to
have access to individualized up-to-date affordable education and training.
Early Intervention to Promote College Attendance. President Clinton will soon announce a
long-term effort to bring college opportunity to children in high-poverty areas by providing their
families with early information about financial aid and appropriate academic preparation, as well
as mentoring and other support services to help the children stay on track through high school
graduation and into college.
�ACCESS TO HEALTH INSURANCE FOR PEOPLE AGES 55 TO 65
BACKGROUND
Americans ages 55 to 65 face special problems of access a:nd affordability. They face greater risks of
health problems, with twice the chances of heart disease, strokes, and cancer as people aged 45 to 54.
As people approach 65, many retire or shift to part-time work or self-employment as a bridge to
retirement, sometimes involuntarily. Displaced workers aged 55 to 65 an~ much less likely than
younger workers to be re-employed or re-insured through a new employer. As a result, more of them
rely on the individual health insurance market. Without the benefits of having their costs averaged
with younger people, as with employer-based insurance, these people often ~ace high premiums.
Such access problems will increase, due to two trends: declines in retiree health coverage and the aging
of the baby boom generation. Recently, businesses have cut back on offering health coverage to
pre-65:-year-old retirees; only 40 percent of large firms now do so.· In several small but notable cases,
businesses have dropped retirees' health benefits after workers have retired. These "broken promise"
retirees lack access to employer continuation coverage and could have problems finding affordable
individual insurance. Finally, the number of people 55 to. 65 years old will rise from 22 million to 35
million' by 2010 - or by 60 percent.
POLICY DESCRIPTION
The President has proposed three policy options to improve access to affordable health insurance for
targeted groups of Americans ages 55 to 65.
1. Medicare Buy-In for People Ages 62 to 65
The centerpiece of this initiative is the Medicare buy-in for people ages
6i to 65.
Eligibility: People ages 62 to 65 .who do not have access to employer sponsored
or Federal health insurance may participate.
Premium Payments: Participants would pay two, geographically adjusted
premmms:
Pre-65 premium: The pre-65 premium would be paid monthly between
enrollment and when the participant turns age 65. It is the part of the full
premium that represents the average Medicare costs for people in this age
group .. For 1999, it would be around $300 per month and would be
updated annually.
Post-65 premium: The post-65 premium would be paid monthly beginning
at age 65 until the beneficiary turns age 85. It is the part of the premium
that represents the extra costs' if participants are sicker than average. For
1999, it would be around $16 per month for each year of participation
(about $48 per month fo~ a person who buys in from age 62 to 65). At the
time of enrollment, participants would be told their post-65 premium. The
post-65 premium would be re-estimated for future participants to ensure
�that it reflects actual experience. This premil.lm would be added to their
Part B Medicare premium.
This two-part payment plan acts like a mortgage: it makes the up-front premium
affordable but requires participants to pay back the Medicare "loan" with interest.
Enrollment: Eligible people would apply at Social Security offices. They would
bring proof of their age and eligibility for Medicare when they turn 65. They
would do this within 63 days of either turning 62 or losing access to
employer~based or Federal insurance (63 days is the maximum time period that a
person can be uninsured and still be protected by Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act).
Applicability of Medicare Rules: Benefits and most protections would be, for
paying participants, the same as those of Medica:re beneficiaries. Participants
would have the choice of fee-for-service or managed care. No Medicaid assistance
would be offered to participants for premiums or cost sharing. Medigap policy
protections would apply, but the open enrollment provision remains at age 65.
Disenrollment: People could stop buying into Medicare at any time. People who
disenroll would pay the post-65 premium as though they had been enrolled for a
full year (e.g., a person who buys in for 3 months in 1999 would pay the post-65
premium as though they participated for 12 months). This is intended to act as a
disincentive for temporary enrollment. . People may only enroll once; for example,
a participant may riot disenroll at age 63 and re-enroll at age 64.
Medicare Trust Fund Impact: According to the HCFA Actuaries (who also
monitor the status of the Trust Funds for the Medicare Trustees), this initiative will
not decrease the life of Medicare's Trust Funds. Premium collections will be
allocated to the Trust Funds in proportion to spending from those Funds for
participants. The Medicare Part B premium and managed care rates for regular
Medicare beneficiaries will be calculated independently of the buy-in.
2. Medicare Buy-In for Displaced Workers Ages 55 and Over
In addition to people ages 62 to 65, a targeted group of 55 to 61 year olds could buy into
Medicare. The Medicare buy-in would be the same as above, with the following
exceptions.
Eligibility: People would be eligible if they are between ages 55 and 61 and: (1)
lost their job because their firm closed, downsized, or moved, or their position was
eliminated (defined as being eligible for unemployment ·insurance) after January 1,
1998; (2) had health insurance on their previous job for at least one year (certified
through the process created under HIPAA to guarantee continuation coverage); and
(3) do not have access to employer sponsored, COBRA, or Federal health
msurance. Spouses of these eligible people may also buy into Medicare.
�Premium Payments: Participants would pay one, geographically adjusted
premium, with no Medicare "loan". This premium represents the average ·
Medicare costs for people in this age group (one premium for age 55 to 59, another
for 60 to 61) plus an add-on to compensate for some of the extra costs of
participants who may be sicker than average. For 1999, the premium would be
$400 per month and would be updated annually.
Disenrollment: Like people ages 62 to 65, eligible displaced workers and their
spouses must enroll in the buy-in within 63 days of becoming eligible. Participants
continue to pay premiums until they voluntarily disenroll, gain access to
empioyer-based insurance or tum 62 and become eligible for the more general
Medicare buy-in. Once they disenroll, ,they may only re-enroll if they meet the
eligibility rules again (e. g., are displaced again).
3. Employer Buy-In (COBRA Continuation Coverage) for Certain Retirees
The President would also help retirees whose former employer unexpectedly drops their
retiree health insurance, leaving them uncovered and with few places to tum.
Eligibility: Termination of retiree health benefits (i.e., they were covered but their
employer ended that coverage) for retirees age 55 to 64 and their dependents would
become a COBRA qualifying event.
.Premium Payments: Participants would pay 125 percent of the active employees'
premium. This premium is higher than what most other COBRA participants pay
(102 percent) to help offset the additional costs of participants.
Enrollment: Participants would enroll through their former employer, follo.wing
the same rules as other COBRA eligibles.
Disenrollment: Retirees would be eligible until they tum 65 years old.
Dependents would be eligible for other related periods of eligibility: as other
COBRA enrollees.
Federal Budget Impact: There is no Federal budget impact because costs would
be' paid for by the private sector, primarily through retiree premium contributions.
Medicare Anti-Fraud, Waste and Abuse Initiatives
The Medicare buy-in would produce some costs primarily because Medicare is "loaning"
participants part of the premium at ages 62 to 65; Even though in the long-run the buy-in
for 62 to 65 year olds is self-financing, the President has proposed a set of anti-fraud,
waste and abuse provisions to offset the up-front "loan" and any costs of the displaced
workers' buy-in. These policies also are part of the President's ongoing effort to root out
fraud and waste in Medicare. Five of the President's anti-fraud, waste and abuse
initiatives produce scorable budget savings.
�Eliminating Excessive Medicare Reimbirrsement for Drugs. A recent report by
the HHS Inspector General found that Medicare currently pays hundreds of
millions of dollars more for 22 ofthe most common and costly drugs than would
be paid if market prices. were used. For more than one-third of these drugs,
Medicare pays more than double the actual acquisition costs, and in one case pays
as high as ten times the amount. This proposal would ensure that Medicare
payments be provider's actual acquisition cost of the drug without mark-ups.
Eliminating Overpayments for Epogen. A 1997 HHS Inspector General report
found that· Medicare overpays for Epogen (a drug used for kidney dialysis .
patients). This policy would change Medicare reimbursement to reflect current
market prices (from $10 per 1,000 units administered to $9). ·
Eliminating Abuse of Medicare's Outpatient Mental Health Benefits. The HHS
Inspector General has found abuses in Medicare's outpatient mentat' health benefit
- specifically, that Medicare is· sometimes billed for services in inpatient or·
residential settings. This proposal would eliminate this abuse by requiring that these
services are only provided in the approp~iate treatment setting.
Ensuring Medicare Does Not Pay For Claims Owed By Private Insurers. Too
often, Medicare pays claims that are owed by private insurers because Medicare
has no way of knowing the private insurer is the primary payer. This proposal
would require insurers to report any Medicare beneficiaries they cover. Also,
Medicare would be allowed to recoup double the amount owed by insurers who
purposely let Medicare pay claims that they should have paid, and impose fines for
failure to report no-fault or liability settlements for which Medicare should have
been reimbursed.
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Enable Medicare to Negotiate Single, Simplified Payments for Certain Routine
Surgical Procedures. This proposal wouid expand HCFA's current "Centers of
Excellence"· demonstration that enables Medicare to pay for hospital and physician
services for certain high-cost surgical procedures through a single, negotiated
payment. This lets Medicare receive volume discounts and, in return, enables .
hospitals to ·increase their market share, gain clinical expertise, and improve
quality.
·
A series of other anti""fraud, waste and abuse actions ·are proposed as well (see "Ten-Point
Plan," announced by the President on January 24, 1998);
�CHILDREN'S HEALTH OUTREACH
BACKGROUND
Last year, the President, with bipartisan Congressional support, signed into law the largest
single expansion of children's health insurance in 30 years. The Children's Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) provides funds for coverage of millions of working families' uninsured
children. These families typically have too much income to qualify for Medicaid but too
little to afford health insurance. But, to ensure the success of this program, an aggressive
campaign to enroll eligible, uninsured children is needed.
In addition, over 3 million children are uninsured but eligible for Medicaid today. Educating
families about their options and enrolling them in Medicaid has always been difficult, but
it has recently become even more challenging. The number of children enrolled in Medicaid
leveled off in 1995 and, ac;cording to the Census, dropped by 6 percent in 1996 .. While some
of this decline may be due to the lower number of children in poverty, another reason for
.
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this decrease may be families' misunderstanding of their children's continued eligibility for
Medicaid that the welfare reform explicitly guaranteed.
POLICY DESCRIPTION
To give States the tools and funding to find and enroll uninsured children, the President's
1999 Budget invests $900 million over 5 years in children's health outreach policies.
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Fund for outreach. ·In welfare reform, a special $500 million pool was created to
fund efforts to improve Medicaid enrollment of families affected bywelfare reform.
The President's 1999 Budget includes aproposal that would expand the use of this
fund. States would be able to receive a 90 percent matching rate for most outreach
activities· for all uninsured children, not just those who would have been eligible for
welfare. The Federal funds to cover the extra matching (above Medicaid's regular
matching amount) would come from this fund. In addition, the proposal would
remove the sunset of the fund in 2000 and add another $25 million to assist States
with increased outreach activities. This outreach fund would provide States with' the
resources to simplify enrollment systems, launch ad campaigns, educate community
volunteers, and conduct other outreach campaigns to find and help enroll uninsured
children.
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Allowing immediate Medicaid coverage through schools, child care resource
and referral centers, and other sites~ The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997
gave States a new option in Medicaid to grant "presumptive eligibility" to children.
Certain children may receive immediate Medicaid coverage on a temporary basis
while waiting for a full Medicaid eligibility determination.
The President's 1999 Budget proposes to make this presumptive eligibility- option
more flexible and attractive to States. First, it would broaden the definition of who
�can determine presumptive eligibility to include sites such as schools, child care
resource and referral centers, child support enforcement agencies and CHIP
eligibility workers. These people are on the front lines in caring for children and
could help educate .and enroll them ·in Medicaid. Second, it would eliminate the
requirement that States subtract the costs of presumptive eligibility from their CHIP
allotments. Instead, these costs would be matched as a regular Medicaid State plan
option. Both of these changes would give States greater incentives and flexibility
for using this option.
In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (Ill-IS) has identified a number
of ideas and optionsfor States to simplify enrollment and integrate Medicaid and CHIP.
This includes encouraging "out-stationing" of eligibility workers; using mail-in, simple
applications; and using a joint application form for both Medicaid and CHIP. (see letter to
State Health Officials from HHS, dated January 23, 1998 for details).
�CANCER CLINICAL TRIALS FOR MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES
BACKGROUND
More than 40 percent of Americans -will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime and
more than 20 percent will die from it. Less than three percent of cancer patients participate
in clinical trials. Moreover, Americans over the age of 65 make up half of all cancer
patients, and are 10 times more likely to get cancer than younger Americans. Many
scientists believe that higher participation in clinical trials could lead to faster development
of therapies for more of those in need, as it often takes between three and five years to enroll
enough participants in a cancer clinical trial to make the results scientificallyJegitimate and
statistically meaningful. Older Americans and people with disabilities covered by Medicare
· frequently cannot participate in cutting-edge cancer Clinical trials because the program does
not pay for such treatments until they are established as standard therapies:.
POLICY DESCRIPTION
The President has proposed a demonstrat.ion that would help Medicare beneficiaries access
·
these cutting-edge cancer treatments.
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Three-Year Demonstration Program for Medicare Beneficiaries. The proposal
would· establish a three-year $750 million demonstration program for Medicare·
beneficiaries to cover the patient care costs associated with certain cancer treatment
clinical trials (research studies with patients).
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Covers .Certain Cancer Clinicai Trials.
Studies sponsored by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) would qualify. This includes:
Trials conducted by NCI programs that oversee and coordinate extramural·
clinical cancer research;
Trials conducted by Cooperative Groups programs;
NCI-sponsored trials at NCI-designated cancer centers;
NCI grants supporting clinical investigators; and
Clinical trials for cancer conducted at other NIH institutes.
Mter one year, the proposal also allows for amendments and/or additions to this set of trials
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services within the same funding constraints; with
the advice of the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board.
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Includes Report to Congress Following Three-Year Demonstration.
The
proposal includes a review and evaluation of the demonstration by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Institute of Medicine's National
Cancer Policy Board, to consider . whether to extend . and/or expand the
demonstration, no later than 30 months after enactment.
•
No Impact on the Medicare Trust Fund.
The demonstration would be
�•
administered by the Health Care Financing Administration, which administers
Medicare, but would be fi.mdc;ld by $750 million in receipts from tobacco legislation.
It would therefore have no effect the financial condition on the Medicare Trust
Fund.
Builds on the Bipartisan Legislation in ~he Congress. Senator Mack and Senator
Rockefeller and Representative Nancy Johnson have taken leadership in this area by
proposing similar legislation that would provide cancer clinical trial coverage for
Medicare beneficiaries.
�- - - - - - - - - - - -
FUNDS FOR AMERICA
The 1999 President's budget meets the challenge of investing in our future by proposing
three new investment funds for America -- for research, the environment, and transportation
--to direct resources to these critical priorities.
•
The Research Fund for America includes a broad range of investments in .
knowledge, including research programs of the National Institutes of Health;
the Centers for Disease Control; the National SCience Foundation; the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Energy, Agriculture,
and Education Departments; the Commerce Department's National Institute
of Standards and Technology; the Department of Agriculture; a multi-agency
Climate Change Technology Initiative; and other programs.
•
The Environmental Resources Fund for America encompasses the multiagency Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative; the new Land,
Water, and Facility Restoration Initiative; the Agriculture Department's
water and wastewater program for-rural communities; and the Environmental
Protection Agency's programs for cleaning up hazardous waste sites (within
the Superfund) and for ensuring clean water and safe drinking water.
•
The Transportation Fund for America includes the Transportation
Department's highway, highway safety, and transit programs; the Flight 2000
free flight demonstration program; and FAA programs, including Airport
·Grants.
Together, these deficit-neutral funds provide $75.5 billion in 1999, a $4.7 billion increase
over 1998 levels, all of which is requested as discretionary appropriations. The financing
of these Funds applies the prinCiple of pay-as-you-go in the Budget Enforcement Act -which applies to mandatory spending --to discretionary spending as well. All three funds
are deficit neutral, and are financed with a combination of transfers within the discretionary
caps and specific mandatory savings and revenue proposals. For 1999, the Funds are
financed as follows:
•
The Research Fund for America is financed through funds available under
the discretionary caps, receipts from tobacco legislation, and savings from
VA tobacco reform.
•
The Environmental Resources Fund for America is financed through
funds available under the discretionary caps and a renewed Federal tax to
support the Superfund.
•
The Transportation Fund for America is financed through funds available
under the discretionary caps.
The use of mandatory offsets for discretionary spending is permissible under c.urrent
�.----~~~~~~~~~~~------------~,
------;---------,-----
scorekeeping rules and precedents. Mandatory offsets were used in both the FY 1996 (the
sale of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation and debt collection reform) and FY 1997 (spectrum .
receipts and reform of the bank insurance funds) appropriations process-es to fund important
discretionary programs. Alternatively, Congress may choose to specifically authorize
mandatory offsets for the purposes of these new Investment F~nds. The Administration
intends to work with the Congress to determine the best approach.
�. ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
The 1999 budget requests $31.5 billion in discretionary spending for high-priority
environmental and natural resource programs, $1.4 billion, or five percent, more than the
1998 enacted level. The budget inCludes a major initiative to begin addressing climate
change. through higher research spending and new tax incentives to spur energy efficiency
and develop low-carbon technologies. The budget also proposes an innovative, deficitneutral financing mechanism for many key environmental restoration programs -- the
Environmental Resources Fund for America -- that supports two additional initiatives: water
quality, and land/facility restoration.
·
•
Climate Change Technology Initiative. The budget provides a five-year, $6.3
billion package of tax incentives and research spending to reduce the Nation's
· emissions of greenhouse gases. The 1999 increase is $0.9 billion, roughly doubling
the 1998 enacted level, as a down-payment on the President's five-year commitment.
Approximately $2.7 billion of the $6.3 billion package is R&D spending to develop
more fuel-efficient automobiles and trucks, energy-saving technologies for
commercial buildings and homes, more energy-efficient industrial processes, and
renewable· energy sources such as biomass, wind, photovoltaics, and fuel cells. The
remaining $3.6 billion of the $6.3 billion package are tax incentives to stimulate the
adoption of more efficient technologies in buildings, vehicles, and power generation.
For highly fuel-efficient vehicles, a tax credit of $4,000 would be available in the
year 2003 for vehicles that get three times the base fuel economy for their class. A
tax credit of $3,000 would be available in the year 2000 for vehicles that get two
times the base fuel economy for their class. Both tax credits would phase out over
time (the $3,000 credit by 2006; the $4,000 credit by 2010).
•
Environmental Resources Fund for America. The budget proposes . the
Environmental Resources Fund for America, a mechanism to use P AYGO offsets
to pay for increases in high priority discretionary environmental programs. The
Fund provides $7.7 billion, 14 percent above 1998, for key environmental restoration
programs. The Fund includes:
Land, Water, and Facility Restoration Initiative: The budget proposes an increase
of $92 million, eight percent more than in 1998 (and $961 million, 16 percent, over
5 years) for construction and maintenance for national parks, forests, refuges, public
lands, and Indian schools. In addition, the initiative includes a 43 percent increase
in land acquisition spending over the next five years from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) and a 12 percent increase over five years from the
Historic Preservation Fund. The LWCF request in 1999 is at the 1998 enacted level
of $270 million, excluding the $699 million in one-time priority land acquisition
funding in the 1997 budget agreement.
Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative: The budget includes $2.2 billion,
a $568 million or 3 5 percent increase over 1998, for a multi-agency initiative to
�restore an'd protect the Nation's waterways by preventing polluted runoff, protecting
public health, and ensuring community-based watershed management. Within this
total, the budget proposes $143 million, the full amount authorized, for California
Bay-Delta watershed restoration activities and $282 million, 24 percent more than
in 1998, to continue the Administration's support for restoring the Everglades.
Water Quality Infrastructure: the budget proposes $1.85 billion in capitalization
grants for Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), which make low.:.interest
'loans to help municipalities address water quality. Of this amount, the budget
includes $1.1 billion in grants foi-the Clean Water SRFs and $775 million for the
Safe Drinking Water Act SRFs. The funding levels for the two SRFs make progress
toward the Administration's goal of providing sufficient capital for the funds to
provide $2.5 billion a year in financial assistance to municipalities oVer the long run.
USDA Water 2000: The budget provides funds for USDA's Water 2000 initiative
--to bring safe drinking water to rural Americans with some of the Nation's most
serious problems ofwater availability, dependability, and quality-- within its $1.3
billion for rural water and wastewater grants and loans.
Superfund Cleanups: The budget proposes $2.1 billion for Superfund, a 40 percent
increase over 1998. These funds will help meet the President's pledge to double the
pace of Superfund cleanups, bringing the total number of cleanups to 900 by the end
of2001.
•
EPA's Operating Program. The budget proposes $3.6 billion, an eight percent
increase over 1998, for EPA's operating program, which includes most of EPA's
research, regulatory, partnership grants (with Stat~s and Tribes), and enforcement
prognims. The program represents the backbone' of the Nation's efforts to protect
public health and the environment through sound science, standard setting,
enforcement, and other means, ensuring that our water is pure, our air clean, and our
food safe.
•
Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative. The budget proposes to extend the
President's Brownfields initiative, which promotes cleanup and redevelopment of
abandoned land -- usually in inner cities -- contaminated from previous industrial
use. EPA would receive $91 million (+$3 million over 1998)' for grants to
communities for site assessment and redevelopment planning, and for revolving loan
funds to finance clean up efforts at the local level. HUD would receive $50 million,
$25 million more than in 1998, to leverage State, local, and private funds for
redeveloping cleaned-up sites and creating jobs. The budget also proposes to extend
the targeted tax incentives to spur Brownfields cleanup.
•·
Endangered Species Act. The budget provides $113 million, a $36 million increase
over 1998, for DOl's endangered species program, mainly for the Administration's
new reforms to encourage private landowners to protect species. The budget also
includes $40 million, a $10 million increase over 1998, for the National Oceanic and
�Atmospheric Administration's endangered species program, mainly focused on
·
habitat conservation planning.
•
Multilateral and Bilateral Environmental Assistance. The budget proposes $322
million, three percent. more than in 1998, for bilateral and multilateral environmental
assistance. Bilateral assistance includes U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) activities to address topics such as biodiversity, and to implement USAID's
five-year, $1 billion commitment to help developing countries address climate
change. Multilateral assistance funds U.S. voluntary contrib~tions to the UN
environmental system and other international environmental activities.
•
Global Environment Facility (GEF). The budget"provides $300 million for U.S.
obligations to the GEF, which is the world's leading-institution for protecting the
global environment from climate change, extinction of valuable species, and the
oceans' fish population. This proposal includes $193 million for U.S. contributions
previously due and $107 million for an initial contribution to replenish the GEF
between 1999 and 2002.
•
Federal Facilities Cleanup and Compliance. The budget provides $6.1 billion, an
. increase of $275 million over 1998; for the I)epartment of Energy's Environmental
Management program for cleaning up Federal facilities contaminated with
radioactive or hazardous waste" left over from over 40 years of research, production,
and testing of nuclear weapons. The budget also includes $4.4 billion for
Department of Defense clean-up activities on military bases, a decrease of $450
million from 1998 largely due to the completion of one-time projects and clean-ups
at closed military bases.
�CLIMATE CHANGE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE
Last fall, the President announced a nine-point plan to begin addressing climate change,
including a five-year, $5 billion package of tax incentives and R&D spending to spur energy
efficiency and help develop low-carbon energy sources. With the historic agreement in
Kyoto in December to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the President is now proposing a
$6.3 billion initiative over 5 years-- $2.7 billion in increased spending and $3.6 billion in
tax incentives. For 1999, the budget includes $473 million in increased spending on climate.
,
I
change related technologies ($1.292 billion vs. $819 million in 1998) and $421 million in
tax incentives. The total first-year initiative is $894 million, and covers the following areas:
BUILDINGS
•
Accelerate the deployment of existing technologies through better labeling of highly
efficient technologies and appliances, through the Partnership for Advanced
Technologies in Housing (PATH), and through tax credits for the purchase of certain
highly efficient building equipment and for the purchase of highly-efficient new
homes. PATH will be cooperative effort by HUD, DOE, and EPA to work with
the building industry and communities to develop and deploy the best available
housing technologies and practices.
a
The tax cuts include a 20 percent credit (subject to a cap) for purchasing energyefficient building equipment, a credit of up to $2,000 for purchasing energy-efficient
new homes, an extension of the wind and biomass tax credit, and a 10 percent
investment credit for the purchase of combined heat and power systems.
•
Million Solar RoofS. Last June the President announced an initiative to encourage
the installation of one million solar hot water and photovoltaic installations on
buildings over the next 10 years. DOE will fund cost-reduction R&D for rooftop
solar systems, and will establish partnerships with communities and builders. In
addition, the budget includes a 15 percent tax credit (up to $2,000) for purchases of
· rooftop solar equipment -- to provide incentives for meeting the Million Solar Roofs
goal.
•
DOE is also increasing its research on building systems modeling and on major
components such as advanced heat-pumps, cooling systems, furnaces, and lighting.
INDUSTRY
•
DOE will intensify its partnerships with industry on technology roadmaps and plans
to reduce energy consumption and secure early reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions. Partnerships currently exi.st with the aluminum, steel, glass, paper and ·
forest products, metal casting, and chemicals industries. Cost-shared R&D with
industry teams and consortia will be enhanced, and complementary efforts will be
undertaken by EPA, USDA, and DOC (NIST), leading to voluntary industry
greenhouse gas reductions.
··
�•
Combined heat and power is an advanced form of cogeneration that integrates power
generation with the· provision ofuseful thermal energy in a factory or building. This
initiative combines R&D with a 10 percent tax credit for investments.
•
Fluorine recovery tax credits. Tax credits are proposed for certain investments to
remove or recycle fluorine and fluorocarbon compounds that are potent greenhouse
gases.
TRANSPORTATION
•
The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) is a governmentindustry effort to develop a safe, clean, and affordable car that gets up 80 miles per
gallon. Production prototypes are planned for 2004. DOE is the largest player,
followed by EPA, DOC, NSF, and DOT. In 1999, thecombined request for PNGVrelated work in those agencies is $277 million, up from $227 appmpriated in 1998.
The budget also proposes tax credits to encourage the purchase of this type of
highly-efficient vehicle.
•
Tax Credits For Fuel Efficient'Cars. The budget includes tax credits of $3,000 and
$4,000 for consumers who purchase advanced.:technology, highly fuel efficient
vehicles -- expected to total $660 million over the next five years.
•
Partnerships for Light and Heavy Trucks. Similar government-industry efforts are
proposed to develop more efficient diesel engines for both light trucks and heavy
~~-
•
.
Sustainable Transportation promotes alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel,
modeled after the approach adopted by Portland, Oregon. Programs in EPA and
DOE will be coordinated with existing and phumed DOT programs, and a tax law
amendment is proposed to equalize treatment of employee parking and transit
benefits.
ELECTRICITY
•
Renewable energy. DOE will expand research partnerships in technologies such as
wind, photovoltaics, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower to accelerate price
reductions and improve performance. The 1999 budget proposes a $100 million
. increase for solar and renewable energy R&D -- a 37 percent increase over 1998 -and a 5-year extension is proposed for the tax credit for electricity produced from
wind and biomass.
'
· ·
·
•
Electricity Restructuring. DOE and EPA will work with States and utilities to
ensure that the,res~cturing does not impede the adoption of r,enewable energy
technologies.
•
Nuclear power-plant life extension. DOE will initiate an R&D effort addressing the
critical technology needs to allow currently-operating nuclear power plants to safely
�extend their operating lifetimes by 10 to 20 years, which will make the transition to
other low-carbon energy sources, such as solar and renewable energy, much easier.
•
Innovative coal combustion technologies. In 1999, DOE will initiate a research
program on innovative new approaches to coal combustion that offer the possibility
of much lower carbon emissions than existing technologies.
CARBON REMOVAL AND SEQUESTRATION.
•
Sequestration R&D. Research is being funded on biological and physical methods
of removing carbon dioxide (C0 2) both from combustion gases and from the
atmosphere.
CROSSCUTTING ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH
•
Emissions credits, incentives, and trading. EPA will evaluate options for a domestic
trading system and early reduction program in industry, based on industry
consultations.
•.
Program and science assessments. DOE will lead efforts to assess the implications
of new research results produced by the Global Change Research Program.
�----------;----
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The 1999 budget provides a total of $78.2 billion for research and development (R&D)
investments -- a three percent increase over 1998. Civilian R&D comprises 48 percent of
this total, continuing a gradual increase in emphasis on non-defense R&D. The budget
provides $16.7 billion for basic research and $16.4 billion for applied-- increases of eight
and five percent, respectively, over the 1998levels. The budget provides $14.5 billion for
university-based research, or six percent more than in 1998. The centerpiece of the
Administration's continuing commitment is the proposed. R~search Fund for America
(RF A), from which many of th.e research dollars will now flow_
RESEARCH FUND FOR AMERICA
•
Reflecting the Preside~t's commitment to ensuring long-term stability and growth
for civilian research programs, the budget proposes a Research Fund for America
that will support a wide range of Federal science and technology activities. The
budget proposes $31 billion for the ·Fund, representing an eight-percent increase for
these activities over the 1998 level. By 2003, the Fund will grow by 32 percent.
HIGHLIGHTS BY AGENCY
•
Department of Defense (DoD). The budget provides $3 7 billion for DoD research
and development-- a one-percent decrease from 1998. Highlights include the Dual
Use Applications Program and the Commercial Operations and Support Savings
Initiative, which promote development of dual-use technologies and adapt costsaving commercial technology for military uses. The budget also supports Advanced
Concept Technology Demonstrations, which harness technology and innovation for
military use, at less cost.
•
National Institutes of Health (NIH). The budget provides a $1.15 billion increase
for NIH, the largest ever, to a proposed $14.8 billion agency funding level that will
support greater research on diabetes, brain disorders, drug demand reduction, genetic
medicine, disease prevention strategies, and the development of an AIDS vaccine.
Within this level, the budget provides a 10 percent increase in cancer research at
NIH, highlighting renewed efforts to prevent, detect, and, ultimately, cure cancer.
From 1999 to 2003, the NIH budget will grow by nearly 50 percent and cancer
research at NIH will grow by 65 percent.
•
National Aeronautics and Space Administration· (NASA). The budget provides
$13.5 billion for NASA in 1999 -- a one-percent decrease from 1998 -- and supports
various ongoing activities, including: $2.1 billion for Space Science -- a three
percent increase over 1998, leading to more robotic exploration of the solar system;
$1.4 billion for Earth Science (formerly Mission to Planet Earth), which explores the
influence of natural processes and human activities on the environment; $3 89 million
�for Advanced Space Transportation Technology, including funds for the X-33 and
X-34 reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrations; $786 million for NASA's
Aeronautics Research and Technology programs, including Aviation Safety R&D;
and $760 million in future-year funds to support launch vehicles that would lower
NASA's launch costs. The budget also includes $2.3 billion for the International
·
.
Space Station.
•
Department of Energy (DoE). The budget provides $7.2 billion in R&D funding
for DoE-- an eleven percent increase over 1998. The budget includes resources for
science research and nuclear fusion programs, for constructing the National
Spallation Neutron Source, for the international partnership onthe Large Hadron
Collider, and for DoE research under the Climate Change Technology Initiative.
•
National Science Foundat~orn. The budget provides $3.7 billion, 10 percent more
than in 1998, for NSF; whose broad mission is to promote science and engineering
research and education across all fields and disciplines. The $344 million increase
is NSF's largest ever.
•
Department of Agriculture (USDA). The budget provides $1.4. billion for R&D
at USDA and includes support for the Agricultural Research Service, the Economic
Research Service, and Cooperative State Research, _and Forest Service programs.
The budget also requests $130 million (+25 percent) for USDA's high-priority
National Research Initiative, arid pro_poses a new Food Genome Initiative expanding
efforts to understand the genomes of important plants, animals and microbes.
•
Department of the Interior (DOl). The budget provides ·$807 million for
Interior's U.S. Geological Survey -- a 6 percent increase over 1998 -- for natural
resource and environmental sciences in clean water, natural hazards reductions, and
wildlife biology and habitat.
•
Department of Commerce (DoC). The budget provides $1.1 billion for R&D at
DoC-- essentially equal to the 1998 level-- and includes funding for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program,
construction of an Advanced Measurement Laboratory on the NIST campus in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Oceanic and Atmospheric Research activities.
•
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The budget provides $0.3 billion to VA's
research program to conduct basic clinical, epidemiological, and behavioral studies
across the entire spectrum of scientific disciplines. Research will focus on aging, .
chronic diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, sensory loss, trauma, health
systems, special populations (including Persian Gulf veterans), and military
occupation and environmental exposures.
�MULTI-AGENCY INITIATIVE HIGHLIGHTS.
•
Climate Change Techn.ology Initiative. The budget includes a five-year R&D
program to reduce the Nation's emissions of greenhouse gases. Led by the
Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, the effort also
includes activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the
Departments of Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development. The budget
proposes a combined $2.7 billion increase over five years for these agencies for
R&D on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon-reduction technologies .
. The budget also proposes $3.6 billion in tax incentives over five years to stimulate
the adoption of more efficient technologies in buildings,. industrial processes,
vehicles, and power generation.
•
US Global Change Research Program. The budget provides $1.9 billion -essentially equal to the 1998 level -- to increase understanding of climate change and
variability, atmospheric chemistry, and ecosystems.
•
Large Scale Networking and High End Computing. The budget provides $850
million for this R&D effort, originally called High Performance Computing and
Communications, which the Administration has restructured to focus on clearer
goals, milestones, and performance measures,. ·As part of this effort, the budget
includes $110 million for the Next Generation Internet Initiative.·
•
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). The budget provides
$277 million -- a 22-percent increase over. 1998 -- for this cost-shared, industry
partnership. Federal funding focuses mainly on development of production
prototype vehicles three times more fuel efficient than today' s cars, with no sacrifice
in comfort, perfomiance, or price.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
•
US/Mexico Foundation. The budget provides $5 million to enhance U.S. and
Mexican. science and technology strengths by supporting research, training, and
human resource development directed at problems common to both countries.
•
Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE). The
budget provides $14 million for GLOBE, an international K-12 education and
science partnership linking schools and scientists to make and . interpret
environmental measurements and share information over the Internet.
•
Education Research Initiative. The budget provides $50 million per year for five
years for a partnership between the Education Department and the National Science
Foundation to support research focused on the best approaches to raising student
achievement through, for example, learning technologies, and innovative approaches
�to reading and mathematics instruction that take advantage of the latest research
findings in cognitive research, and research on brain development in· young children. ·
�HEALTH RESEARCH
IN THE RESEAR.CH FUND FOR AMERICA
BACKGROUND
Recent progress in biomedical research has ensured that many of the diseases Americans
faced a generation ago can now be prevented or treated. Smallpox has been eradicated from
· the entire world and polio is gone from the Western Hemisphere. There are new therapies
for some of the most devastating diseases, such as AIDS. These successes would not have
occurred without a strong sustained support of biomedical research. Even mote
breakthroughs are in sight. For example, new knowledge about both genetics and the
structure of tumors may enable scientists to pinpoint more effective treatments for prostate,
breast, and ovarian cancer. There are also new opportunities to learn more about preventing
diseases. Finally, there are new possibilities to determine how to translate cutting edge
discoveries into practical, improved care.
'
POLICY DESCRIPTION
To build on this progress and new possibilities, the "21st Century Research Fund" contains
an unprecedented, multi-year· commitment to improve health care research. It contains new
funding for investments in biomedical research, prevention research, and research to
improve health outcomes. In 1999 alone, this Fund contains:
An Historic $1.15 Billion Investment in Biomedical Research. To build on the progress
in biomedical research, the Fund contains a historic up-front investment in biomedical
research- a $1.15 billion increase in FY 1999 - and proposes an increase in NIH funding
of nearly 50 percent over the next five years. Under the President's proposal, the NIH will
devote over $20 billion to biomedical research in 2003. This increases funding at all of the
Institutes at NIH, including a 65 percent increase in cancer research funding.
$25 Million Increase in New. Prevention Research. The Fund also includes a new
Prevention Research Program at CDC to identify interventions that prevent diseases.
$25 Million Increase In Quality and Health Outcomes Research. Research at the
Agency of Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) bridges the gap between what
scientists know and the health care Americans receive. In FY1999, total funding for
AHCPR would increase by $25 million to a.total of $171 million. Funding for
health care quality improvement, which will address the scientific research
recqmmendations of the President's Quality Commission, would double from $15
million to $30 million.
•
$300 Million Increase In Veteran's Research. The Budget provides $300 million
to VA's research program to conduct basic clinical, epidemiological, and behavioral
studies across the entire spectrum of scientific disciplines. FY 1999 research will
�focus on aging, chronic diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, sensory loss,
trauma, health systems, special populations (including Persian Gulf veterans), and
military occupation and environmental.exposures.
�RESTORING BENEFITS TO
VULNERABLE GROUPS OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
The President believes that legal immi.grants should have the same opportunity, and bear the
same responsibility, as other members of society. Upon signing the 1996 welfare law,.he
pledged to work toward reversing the harsh, unnecessary cuts in benefits to legal immigrants
that had nothing to do with moving people from welfare to work. As part of last year's
Balanced Budget Act (BBA), the President worked with Congress to restore Medicaid and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to hundreds of thousands of disabled and elderly legal
immigrants. In the 1999 budget the President proposes to restore Food Stamp benefits to
vulnerable groups of legal immigrants and to provide States the option to provide health
,
·
assistance to immigrant children.
FOOD STAMP BENEFITS
The 1999 budget proposes to restore Food Stamp benefits for vulnerable groups of legal
immigrants. The President's proposals would provide Food Stamp benefits to an additional
730,000 legal immigrants in 1999 at a cost of $2.5 billion over 5 years. Specifically,
benefits would be restored for:
•
Families with children. This provision restores eligibility to families with children
without regard to the immigrant's date of entry into the U.S. It will assist hundreds
of thousands of families with citizen children and legal immigrant parents who are
now depending upon only a partial Food Stamp benefit for the citizen children.
Restoration of benefits to families with children will ensure that ·children receive the
nutrition they need to become healthy, productive members of our society.
I
'
•
'
•
Immigrants with disabilities and elderly immigrants age 65 and older. ·This provision
parallels the action taken in the BBA for SSI and Medicaid. Consequently it applies
to those who entered before welfare reform was enacted~ Immigrants who have
already come to the U.S. should not be penalized when they have played by the
rules.
•
Refugees and asylees. The current law exemption for refugees, asylees, and those
whose deportation has been withheld would be extended from 5 to 7 years. The
Nation admits refugees and asylees for humanitarian reasons and many need more
time to naturalize than the current exemption provides. This proyision parallels the
action taken in the BBA for SSI and Medicaid.
•
Hmong immigrants from Laos who came to the U.S. after the Vietnam war. This
provision recognizes the unique history and special needs of this gr9up.
•·
Certain Native Americans living along the Canadian and Mexican borders. This
provision also parallels a similar provision for SSI and Medicaid in the BBA that
corrects an oversight in the welfare reform law.
The Administration's proposal would first require immigrants to seek assistance from those
who sponsored the immigrant into the country. Recent immigrants whose sponsors signed
the new legally binding affidavits of support would be ineligible for Food Stamps unless the
�sponsor became destitute. When support is unavailable from an immigrant's sponsor, the
Nation should provide a safety net for vulnerable groups of immigrants who are legal,
permanent residents of our country.
HEALTH COVERAGE
The 1999 budget also proposes to provide States the option to provide health care coverage
through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for legal immigrant
children. This provision gives States the option to provide health coverage through
Medicaid and CHIP-to legal immigrant children regardless of when they entered the country.
States currently have the option to cover legal immigrant children who entered the country
before the 1996 Welfare law was enacted. The 1999 budget extends this option to allow
states to cover immigrant children who entered the country after the 1996 welfare law was
enacted.
·
For this purpose, the budget provides an additional $230 million over five years in Medicaid.
State spending ~auld be matched at Medicaid matching rates.· The budget would also allow
states to cover immigrant children through their current CHIP allotment. To give States
flexibility, States can chose to cover immigrant children through either Medicaid or CHIP,
or through both programs.
This policy provides access to needed medical care for low-income, legal immigrant children
who become seriously ill or who have an accident. This policy would also provide access
to preventative health care services for a very. vulnerable population. The President's
proposal does not undermine the central goal of welfare reform -- which is to move adults
from welfare to work-- but, would instead allow immigrant children to get the· best possible
start in life.
�HIV/AIDS
The 1999 budget continues the Administration's strong record of support for HIV/AIDS
throughout the government: ,
HHS DISCRETIONARY AIDS FUNDING UP 8 PERCENT
The budget provides $3.8 billion for discretionary HIV/AIDS activities at the Department
of Health and Human SerVices, an increase of 8 percent over 1998 and an 83 ·percent
increase over FY 1993. Total funding for HHS HIV/AIDS activities, which includes both
mandatory -- Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security -- and discretionary activities -- Nlli
and Ryan White-- is $9.7 billion, an 8 percent increase over 1998 and an 85 percent increase
· over the 1993 level of$5.2 billion.
RYAN WHITE AIDS TREATMENT GRANTS UP 14 PERCENT
The budget includes $1.315 billion for Ryan White AIDS Treatment .Grants, a $165
million (14 percent) increase over 1998 and a 241 percent increase over the 1993 level.
Included in this amount is a $386 million set-aside for grants to State AIDS Drug Assistance
Programs (a 35 percent increase over the 1998 level of $286 million, and a 642 percent
increase since the set-aside began ·in 1996, which will help ensure that low-income people.
with HIV/AIDS have access to powerful. combination therapy drugs.
'
HUD HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH AIDS (HOPWA) UP 10
PERCENT
.
The budget includes $225 million for HOPWA, a $21 million (1 0 percent) increase
over the 1998 level of$204 million and $125 million (125 percent) over ~he 1993 level of
$100 million.
NIH AIDS RESEARCH UP 7.7 PERCENT
The budget includes $1.731.billion for AIDS research activities at the Nlli, a 7.7
percent increase over 1998 and a 62 percent increase over 1993~ In May 1997, the President
challenged the scientific community to develop an AIDS vaccine within the next ten years.
As a leader in biomedical research, Nlli will spearhead the scientific community's efforts
to meet the President's challenge.
CDC HIV AND STD PREVENTION ACTIVITIES INCREASED BY $15 MILLION
0
'
,
The budget includes $15 million in new resources at CDC for.HIV prevention (+$5
!million) and other sexually transmitted disease activities (+$10 million), as part of the
President's initiative to address racial health disparities. The budget has increased resources
for CDC HIV Prevention activities by 28 percent since 1993.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Speechwriting Office - Edward Widmer
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National Security Council
Speechwriting Office
Edward Widmer
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Edward Widmer served as President Clinton’s chief foreign policy speechwriter from 1997-2000. As an NSC speechwriter Widmer worked on remarks for a wide variety of topics dealing with countries such as China, Korea, Argentina, Ghana, Canada, the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Russia, and Venezuela. Widmer wrote speeches concerning the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), sanctions, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the United Nations, Islam, and the European Union.</p>
<p>This collection consists of speech drafts, memoranda, handwritten notes, newspaper articles, publications, schedules, reports, and papers. Many of the speech drafts are marked up with extensive critical comments and suggested revisions. Widmer’s handwritten notes can be found on scraps of paper, napkins, and the back of other records.</p>
<p>This collection was made available through a <a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/freedom-of-information-act-requests">Freedom of Information Act</a> request.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1997-2000
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36419" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7585793" target="_blank">National Archives Collection Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0471-F
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Extent
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250 folders in 14 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Budget '99
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National Security Council
Speechwriting Office
Edward (Ted) Widmer
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0471-F
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 3
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0471-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7585793" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
10/16/2014
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
42-t-7585793-2006471f-003-015-2014
7585793