EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
Unemployment Down to 3.4%: The unemployment rate in Wisconsin has declined from 4.4% to 3.4% since 1993. 355,000 New Jobs: 355,000 new jobs have been created in Wisconsin since 1993 -- an average of 56,053 jobs per year, compared to just 44,675 per year during the previous administration. 317,900 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 317,900 new private sector jobs have been created-an average of 50,195 jobs per year, compared to an average of just 36,600 private sector jobs per year in the previous administration. 57,500 New Manufacturing Jobs: 57,500 new manufacturing jobs have been created since 1993 -- an average of 9,079 per year. In contrast, an average of 1,150 manufacturing jobs were lost each year during the previous administration. 25,700 New Construction Jobs: Since 1993, 25,700 new construction jobs have been created in Wisconsin, an average of 4,058 jobs per year. 179,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 88,000 Wisconsin workers benefited from an increase in the minimum wage-from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on October 1, 1996. They, along with about 91,000 more received an additional raise-from $4.75 to $5.15 -- on September 1, 1997. Poverty Has Fallen: Nationally, the poverty rate has fallen from 15.1% in 1993 to 13.3% in 1997. In Wisconsin, the poverty rate has fallen from 12.6% in 1993 to 8.2% in 1997--down 4.4% under President Clinton. [Census Bureau] Home Ownership Has Increased in Wisconsin: Home ownership in Wisconsin has increased from 68.0% to 70.7% since the fourth quarter of 1993. 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 579,000 families in Wisconsin. 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 Wisconsin this year. EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Nearly 13,000 Children in Head Start: Nearly 13,000 Wisconsin children were enrolled in Head Start in 1998. In FY99, Wisconsin will receive $66.9 million in Head Start funding, an increase of $25.9 million over 1993. More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Wisconsin'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. Wisconsin receives $20 million in 1999 to hire about 517 new public school teachers. And, under President Clinton's proposal, Wisconsin would receive $23 million in FY2000 to support a total of 639 teachers. $8.3 Million in Goals 2000 Funding: This year [FY99], Wisconsin receives $8.3 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. $6.9 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY99], Wisconsin receives $6.9 million for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, which helps communities and the private sector ensure that every student is equipped with the computer literacy skills needed for the 21st century. Over $125.6 Million for Students Most in Need: Wisconsin receives over $125.6 million in Title I grants providing extra help in the basics for students most in need, particularly communities and schools with high concentrations of children in low-income families [FY99]. This is an increase of $500,000 over FY98 funding. $100.3 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY99], Wisconsin will receive $100.3 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college, an additional $4.7 million over last year. With this increase, a total of 55,700 Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin will receive $17.2 million in Work-Study funding in 1999 to help Wisconsin students work their way through college. Over 1,600 Have Served in Wisconsin through AmeriCorps: Since the National Service program began in 1993, 1,672 AmeriCorps participants have earned money for college while working in Wisconsin's schools, hospitals, neighborhoods or parks. [through 11/98] 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. 119,000 students in Wisconsin will receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500. 146,000 students in Wisconsin will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in FY2000 estimate] Expanded Job Training to Wisconsin's Dislocated Workers: Thanks to President Clinton, the FY99 budget includes a significant expansion in the dislocated worker program. Wisconsin will receive $9.4 million in 1999 to help 5,570 of Wisconsin'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 12% in Wisconsin: Since 1992, serious crime in Wisconsin has fallen 12% statewide. Property crime has also fallen 13%. In Wisconsin's cities, serious crime, as indicated by the crime index, has fallen 23% in Madison and 14% in Milwaukee. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports] Juvenile Arrests Down in Wisconsin: Wisconsin's juvenile violent arrests have decreased 24% between 1992 and 1997. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997] 1,132 More Police: The President's 1994 Crime Bill has funded 1,132 new police officers to date in communities across Wisconsin. [through 7/99] Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime in Wisconsin, the Clinton Administration has awarded Drug Court grants to the communities of Madison, Milwaukee, Bowler and Keshena. 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. Nearly $4.8 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence Against Women Act, Wisconsin received $4.79 million in federal funds in FY98 to establish more women's shelters and bolster law enforcement, prosecution and victims' services. Over $1.1 Million in Grants for Battered Women and Children: In FY98, Wisconsin received approximately $1.1 million in HHS's Family Violence Prevention Program grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse, an additional $195,000 increase over FY97. $7.7 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Wisconsin's Schools: Wisconsin receives $7.7 million in FY99 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs. MOVING WISCONSIN RESIDENTS FROM WELFARE TO WORK
207,291 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 207,291 fewer people on welfare in Wisconsin now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a 86% decrease. [through 12/98] Child Support Collections Up 70%: Child support collections have increased by more than $206 million-or 70% -- in Wisconsin since FY92. [through FY98] Encouraging Responsible Choices-Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Wisconsin: 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 and teen abortion rates are declining. And between 1992 and 1997, teen birth rates declined 14.7% in Wisconsin. $23.6 Million for Wisconsin Welfare-to-Work: In 1998, Wisconsin received $12.9 million in Federal welfare-to-work state formula grants (the state matched $6.4 million in funding), helping Wisconsin welfare recipients get and keep jobs. In addition, $4.3 million in competitive grants were awarded to Wisconsin localities to support innovative welfare-to-work strategies and Native American tribes in Wisconsin received $373,000 in Federal funding. 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. Milwaukee and Appleton have received a total of $1.2 million this year to fund innovative transit projects. INVESTING IN WISCONSIN'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 more uninsured children in Wisconsin the Balanced Budget provided $38 million in 1998. This compares to the 1995 Republican plan vetoed by President Clinton that would have denied health care coverage to 35,400 children in Wisconsin. Helping 106,000 Wisconsin 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, Wisconsin received $55.7 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 106,000 women, infants and children in need receive health and food assistance, 650 more than in 1994. 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 Wisconsin in 1997, 95% of two-year olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 92% received the vaccine for polio; 91% received the vaccine for measles, and 93% received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a form of meningitis. Increased Funding for Ryan White by $14.3 Million: Between 1993 and 1998, Wisconsin communities received $14.3 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 41% in Wisconsin: The Clinton Administration's tobacco proposal, combined with the recently enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting premature deaths 41% in Wisconsin by 2004. Between 2000 and 2004, 70,200 of Wisconsin's youth will be kept from smoking and 22,400 will be spared premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99] 2,900,000 Americans in Wisconsin Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient Protections: Even if Wisconsin enacted all the protections in the Patients' Bill of Rights, 2,900,000 people in Wisconsin 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, 1,440,000 Wisconsin 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
$13.1 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY99], thanks to President Clinton, Wisconsin will receive $10 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, Wisconsin will receive $3 million in Public Water Supply Supervision grants to help monitor drinking water quality and enforce health standards. 25 Superfund Sites Cleaned Up: Since the President took office in 1993, the EPA completed toxic waste site clean-ups in Williamstown, Kohler, Middleton, Spencer, Janesville (2), Brookfield, Muskego, Wausau, Onalaska, Harrison, Algoma, Cleveland Twp., Franklin, Frankline Twp., Excelsior, Stoughton (2), Whitelaw, Ashippun, Ripon, Tomah (2), Appelton, and Caledonia, [through 6/99]. This is more than eight times as many sites as were cleaned up in the previous 12 years combined. Brownfields-Revitalizing Communities in Wisconsin: As part of the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded grants to counties and communities in Wisconsin-Glendale, Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Milwaukee County-for environmental clean-up and economic revitalization. In addition, The Wisconsin Department of National Resources and the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, who have targeted six contaminated sites and are considering six more, will also benefit from Brownfields grants. 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 Wisconsin's Communities: Milwaukee was designated an Enterprise Communities and was awarded $3 million for similar job-creation efforts. In 1999, Keshena was designated a Rural Enterprise Community. Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 3,400 To 4,100 New Affordable Housing Units in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin alone, this proposal would mean an additional 3,400 - 4,100 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during the next five years. PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF
$129 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Wisconsin has received $129 million in disaster relief. This includes $22 million for severe storms and flooding in 1998, and $68 million in assistance to recover from the Midwest Floods of 1993. [FEMA, 12/98] EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
Over $2.1 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Wisconsin has received over $2.1 billion in federal highway aid. Included in this funding is 42.9 million for emergency relief in response to natural disasters. [through FY98] Over $135 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY98 Wisconsin received over $135 million in Airport Improvement Plan 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. Approximately $258 Million in Transit Funds: Wisconsin has received approximately $258 million in FTA funds from 1993-1998. Saving Lives and Property: In 1997 the United States Coast Guard saved 20 lives and over $11.5 million of property in Wisconsin.
Last Updated July 1999
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