EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
Unemployment Down to 3.4%: The unemployment rate in Connecticut has declined from 6.6% to 3.4% since 1993. In contrast, unemployment increased 113% under the previous administration. 128,400 New Jobs: 128,400 new jobs have been created in Connecticut since 1993 -- an average of 20,274 per year, compared to an average loss of 34,875 jobs per year in the previous administration. 106,000 New Private Sector Jobs: 106,000 new private-sector jobs have been created in Connecticut since 1993 -- an average of 16,737 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 34,775 private sector jobs were lost each year during the previous administration. 10,900 New Construction Jobs: 10,900 construction jobs have been created in Connecticut since 1993 -- an average of 1,721 jobs per year. In contrast, an average of 7,075 construction jobs were lost each year during the previous administration. 59,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 18,000 Connecticut workers have benefited from an increase in the minimum wage-from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. They, along with about 41,000 more, received an additional raise on September 1, 1997. Home Ownership Has Increased in Connecticut: Home ownership in Connecticut has increased from 62.5% to 66.6% since the fourth quarter of 1993. Home Building Up 6.5%: Home building in Connecticut has increased by an average of 6.5% per year since 1993, after falling over 19.3% per year during the previous administration. A $500 Child Tax Credit to Help Families Raising Children: To help make it easier for families to raise their children, the balanced budget included a $500 per-child tax credit for children under 17. Thanks to President Clinton the balanced budget delivers a child tax credit to 362,000 families in Connecticut. Business Failures Down 12%: Business failures in Connecticut have dropped 12% per year since 1993, after increasing 68.5% per year during the previous four years [Oct. 98 data]. Over $25,000 of Reduced Federal Debt for Every Family of Four: The national debt will be $1.7 trillion lower in FY99 than projected in 1993 -- that's $25,000 less debt for each family of four in Connecticut this year. EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Nearly 6,500 Children in Head Start: Nearly 6,500 Connecticut children were enrolled in Head Start in 1998. In FY99, Connecticut will receive $37.8 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $16.0 million over 1993. More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Connecticut's Schools: Thanks to President Clinton, the final FY99 budget provides for the first year of the President's new initiative to hire 100,000 new, well-prepared teachers, to reduce class sizes in the early grades to a national average of 18. Connecticut receives $11.3 million in 1999 to hire about 292 new public school teachers. And, under President Clinton's proposal, Connecticut would receive $13 million in FY2000 to support a total of 356 teachers. $4.7 Million in Goals 2000 Funding: This year [FY99], Connecticut receives $4.7 million in Goals 2000 funding. This money is used to raise academic achievement by raising academic standards, increasing parental and community involvement in education, expanding the use of computers and technology in classrooms, and supporting high-quality teacher professional development. $3.8 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY99], Connecticut receives $3.8 million-more than doubling its funding over FY97 -- for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund which helps communities and the private sector ensure that every student is equipped with the computer literacy skills needed for the 21st century. $76.7 Million for Students Most in Need: Connecticut receives $76.7 million in Title I Grants (to Local Educational Agencies) providing extra help in the basics for students most in need, particularly communities and schools with high concentrations of children in low-income families [FY98]. This is an increase of $8.2 million over FY98 funding. Over 2,000 Have Served in Connecticut through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 2,024 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in Connecticut's schools, hospitals, neighborhoods or parks. [through 11/98] $46.7 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY99], Connecticut will receive $46.7 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college, an additional $2.2 million over last year. With this increase, a total of 26,000 Connecticut students will benefit. Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through College: The FY99 budget includes a significant expansion of the Federal Work Study program. Connecticut will receive $10.1 million in Work-Study funding in 1999 to help Connecticut students work their way through college. Tuition Tax Credits in Balanced Budget Open the Doors of College and Promote Lifelong Learning: The balanced budget included both President Clinton's $1,500 HOPE Scholarship to help make the first two years of college as universal as a high school diploma and a Lifetime Learning Tax Credit for college juniors, seniors, graduate students and working Americans pursuing lifelong learning to upgrade their skills. This 20% tax credit will be applied to the first $5,000 of tuition and fees through 2002 and to the first $10,000 thereafter. 56,000 students in Connecticut will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 69,000 students in Connecticut will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 estimate] Expanded Job Training to Connecticut's Dislocated Workers: Thanks to President Clinton, the FY99 budget includes a significant expansion in the dislocated worker program. Connecticut will receive $14.5 million in 1999 to help 8,610 of Connecticut's dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they need to return to work as quickly as possible. FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE
Crime Falls 21% in Connecticut: Since 1992, serious crime in Connecticut has fallen 21%. Violent crime and property crime have also both declined by 21%. In Hartford, between 1992 and 1997, serious crime, as indicated by the crime index, has declined 43%, with a 62% drop in rape and 42% drop in robbery. In addition, serious crime has also declined 20% in New Haven and 23% in Waterbury. Juvenile Arrests Down in Connecticut: Connecticut's juvenile murder arrests have decreased 37% between 1992 and 1997. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997] 1,209 More Police: The President's 1994 Crime Bill has funded 1,209 new police officers to date in communities across Connecticut. [through 7/99] Hartford Will Receive Targeted Funding to Hire More Community Police: Hartford was selected as a pilot city for the President's new effort to target high crime neighborhoods. The pilot program will provide full funding for new officers by waiving the usual matching requirements. Hartford will deploy new officers to help meet the unique needs of its community, such as combating gangs or targeting drug "hot spots." Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in Connecticut, the Clinton Administration has awarded a Drug Court grant to the community of Bridgeport. The Administration had previously awarded grants to a number of Connecticut communities including: Waterbury, Hartford, New Haven, and Wilmington. Drug courts use the coercive power of the criminal justice system to combine drug testing, sanctions, supervision and treatment to push nonviolent, drug-abusing offenders to stop using drugs and committing crimes. Over $3 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, Connecticut received $3.5 million in federal funds in FY98 to establish more women's shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims' services. $700,000 in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY98, Connecticut received $700,000 in HHS's Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse, an additional $119,300 increase over FY97. $4.3 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Connecticut's Schools: Connecticut has received $4.3 million in FY99 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs. MOVING CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS FROM WELFARE TO WORK
62,502 Fewer People on Welfare: Since 1993, there are 62,502 fewer people on welfare in Connecticut - a 39% decrease. [through 12/98] Child Support Collections Up 84%: Child support collections have been increased by $70.7 million-or 84% -- in Connecticut since FY92. [through FY98] Encouraging Responsible Choices-Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Connecticut: Since 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have supported innovative and promising teen pregnancy prevention strategies, with significant components of the strategy becoming law in the 1996 Personal Responsibility Act. The law requires unmarried minor parents to stay in school and live at home or in a supervised setting; encourages "second chance homes" to provide teen parents with the skills and support they need; and provides $50 million a year in new funding for state abstinence education activities. Efforts are making a difference, adolescent pregnancy rates and teen abortion rates are declining. And between 1992 and 1997, teen birth rates declined 8% in Connecticut. $26.9 Million for Connecticut Welfare-to-Work: In 1998, Connecticut received $12.0 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants (the state matched $6.0 million in funding), helping Connecticut welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, $8.9 million in competitive grants were awarded to Connecticut localities to support innovative welfare-to-work strategies. Part of the President's comprehensive efforts to move recipients from welfare to work, this funding was included in the $3 billion welfare to work fund in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Helping People Get to Work: Through the Access to Jobs initiative, the Clinton-Gore Administration is working with communities across the country to design transportation solutions to help welfare recipients and other low-income workers get to and from work. Statewide, Connecticut has received $3 million to fund innovative transit projects. INVESTING IN CONNECTICUT'S HEALTH
Health Care For Uninsured Children: The balanced budget included the largest single investment in health care for children since the passage of Medicaid in 1965 -- an unprecedented $24 billion over five years to cover as many as five million children throughout the nation. This investment guarantees the full range of benefits-from checkups to surgery -- that children need to grow up strong and healthy. It ensures that prescription drugs, vision, hearing, and mental health coverage now offered at the state level are extended to millions of uninsured children. To expand health coverage to 53,000 uninsured children in Connecticut the balanced budget provided $35 million in 1998. This compares to the 1995 Republican plan vetoed by President Clinton that would have denied health care coverage to 53,600 children in Connecticut. Helping Over 60,000 Connecticut Women and Children with WIC: The Clinton Administration is committed to full funding in the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). In FY98, Connecticut received $33.8 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 60,200 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance. More Toddlers Are Being Immunized: As a result of the President's 1993 Childhood Immunization Initiative, childhood immunization rates have reached an historic high. According to the CDC, by 1996, 90% or more of America's toddlers received the most critical doses of each of the routinely recommended vaccines-surpassing the President's 1993 goal. In Connecticut in 1996, 98% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 94% received the vaccine for polio; 94% received the vaccine for measles, and 95% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis. Increased Funding for Ryan White by $62.4 Million: Between 1993 and 1998, Connecticut communities received $62.4 million in Ryan White formula and other HIV/AIDS program funds. This funding provides people living with HIV and AIDS medical and support services, including the AIDS Drug Assistance Program which helps those without insurance obtain much needed prescription drugs. [HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, 12/98] Tobacco Plan Will Cut Smoking and Premature Deaths by 37% in Connecticut: The Clinton Administration's tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 37% in Connecticut by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 30,600 of Connecticut's youth will be kept from smoking and 9,800 will be spared a premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99] 1,740,000 Americans in Connecticut Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if Connecticut enacted all the protections in the Patients' Bill of Rights, 1,740,000 people in Connecticut cannot be assured they have the comprehensive patient protections recommended by the President's Advisory Commission. This is because the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) may preempt state-enacted protections. That is why the President has called on Congress to pass a federally enforceable patients' bill of rights so that everyone enrolled in managed care may have a basic set of protections. Notably, 910,000 Connecticut women are in ERISA health plans and are therefore not necessarily protected. Women are particularly vulnerable without these protections because they are greater users of health care services, they make three-quarters of the health care decisions for their families, and they have specific health care needs addressed by a patients' bill of rights. PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
5 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed 5 Superfund toxic waste cleanups in Connecticut. The sites are located in Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Norwalk, Plainfield and Cheshire [through 6/99]. This is five times the number of sites cleaned up in New York during the previous two administrations. $8.9 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY99], thanks to President Clinton, Connecticut will receive $7.4 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to provide low-interest loans to municipalities to build, improve, and prevent pollution of drinking water systems. In addition, Connecticut] will receive $1.4 million in Public Water Supply Supervision grants to help monitor drinking water quality and enforce health standards. Revitalizing Brownfields in Connecticut: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to ten communities in Connecticut-Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Middletown, New Britain, Norwich, Griswold and the Naugatuck Valley-for environmental clean-up and economic revitalization. These projects are intended to jump-start local clean-up efforts by providing funds to return unproductive, abandoned, contaminated urban properties to productive use. SPEARHEADING URBAN RENEWAL EFFORTS
Revitalizing Connecticut's Communities: Bridgeport and New Haven were designated as Enterprise Communities in December, 1994 and were awarded $3 million each to create more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity for area residents. In 1999, New Haven was named a New Urban Empowerment Zone. Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 1,300 To 1,500 New Affordable Housing Units in Connecticut Over the Next 5 Years: Last year, the President and Vice President pushed for a 40-percent expansion in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. This year, the President and Vice President will try again to enact tax incentives to develop affordable housing. In Connecticut alone, this proposal would mean an additional 1,300 - 1,500 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years. PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF
$16.5 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Connecticut has received $16.5 million in disaster relief. [FEMA, 12/98] EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
Over $2 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Connecticut has received over $2 billion in federal highway aid. Included in this funding is $4.5 million for emergency relief in response to natural disasters and $1.2 million for scenic byways. These funds have helped generate 89,148 jobs. [through FY98] Nearly $27 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY98, Connecticut received over $27 million in Airport Improvement Program funds to help build and renovate airports, and, when necessary, to provide funds for noise abatement to improve the quality of life for residents who live near airports. Transit Funding: Since 1993, Connecticut has received over $355 million in Federal Transit Funding. Saving Lives and Property: In 1997 the United States Coast Guard saved 50 lives and over $6 million of property in Connecticut.
Last Updated July 1999
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