11 January 1999
Source: http://library.whitehouse.gov/PressReleases-plain.cgi?date=0&briefing=1

                                  THE WHITE HOUSE

                           Office of the Vice President
            ___________________________________________________________
    For Immediate Release                         Contact:
    Monday, January 11, 1999                 (202) 456-7035

                          CLINTON-GORE LIVABILITY AGENDA:
                 BUILDING LIVABLE COMMUNITIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

                   "In the 21st century, increasingly, a livable community will
                   be an economically powerful one.
                        --Vice President Gore, Sept. 2, 1998

    Vice President Gore is today launching a comprehensive Livability Agenda to
    help communities across America grow in ways that ensure a high quality of
    life and strong, sustainable economic growth. This billion dollar
    initiative will strengthen the federal government's role as a partner with
    the growing number of state and local efforts to build "livable
    communities" for the 21st century.

    Key elements of the interagency initiative -- to be included in President
    Clinton's proposed FY 2000 budget -- will provide communities with new
    tools and resources to preserve green space, ease traffic congestion, and
    pursue regional "smart growth" strategies.  As part of the Livability
    Agenda, the Administration will continue to work with and learn from
    states, communities, and other stakeholders, and to develop new strategies
    to provide them with additional tools and resources.

    Livability Goals

    The Clinton-Gore Livability Agenda aims to help citizens and communities:

                Preserve green spaces that promote clean air and clean water,
              sustain wildlife, and provide families with places to walk, play
              and relax.

               Ease traffic congestion by improving road planning,
              strengthening existing transportation systems, and expanding use
              of alternative transportation.

               Restore a sense of community by fostering citizen and private
              sector involvement in local planning, including the placement of
              schools and other public facilities.

               Promote collaboration among neighboring communities -- cities,
              suburbs or rural areas -- to develop regional growth strategies
              and address common issues like crime.

               Enhance economic competitiveness by nurturing a high quality of
              life that attracts well-trained workers and cutting-edge
              industries.

    FY 2000 Livability Initiatives

    The President's FY 2000 budget request to Congress will propose significant
    new investments to support major Livability programs:

         Better America Bonds - To help communities reconnect with their land
    and water, preserve green space for future generations, and provide
    attractive settings for economic development, the Administration
    is proposing a new financing tool generating $9.5 billion in bond
    authority for investments by state, local and tribal governments.
    The President's budget will propose tax credits totaling more
    than $700 million over five years -- to support Better America
    Bonds, which can be used to preserve green space, create or
    restore urban parks, protect water quality, and clean up brownfields
    (abandoned industrial sites). The program will be coordinated
    through an interagency process.

         Community Transportation Choices - To help ease traffic congestion,
         the proposed Department of Transportation budget for FY 2000 will
         include a record $6.1 billion for public transit and $2.2 billion -- a
         total 16 percent increase over FY 1999 -- to aggressively implement
         innovative community-based programs in the Transportation Equity Act
         for the 21st Century.  Such programs provide flexible support to help
         communities create regional transportation strategies, improve
         existing roads and transit, and encourage broader use of alternative
         transportation. This includes $1.6 billion for the Congestion
         Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, which supports state
         and local projects that reduce congestion and improve air quality.

         Regional Connections Initiative - To promote regional "smart growth"
         strategies and to complement the Administration's other regional
         efforts, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide
         $50 million as matching funds for local partnerships to design and
         pursue smarter growth strategies across jurisdictional lines.
         Strategies will include compact development incentives, (b)
         coordinated reinvestment in existing infrastructure, and (c) ways to
         manage reinforce the region's overall development strategy.

         Other Livability Initiatives - The President's proposed FY 2000 budget
         will include funding for several other initiatives supporting local
         livability efforts:

              Community-Centered Schools - A new $10 million grant program
              administered by the Department of Education to encourage school
              districts to involve the community in planning and designing new
              schools.

              Community-Federal Information Partnership - A new $40 million
              program funded by several agencies to provide communities with
              grants for easy-to-use information tools to help develop
              strategies for future growth.

              Regional Crime-Data Sharing - $50 million will be provided to
              expand programs to help communities share information to improve
              public safety. These programs will: (1) improve and continue to
              computerize national, state, and local criminal history records;
              and (2) develop or upgrade local communications technologies and
              criminal justice identification systems to help local law
              enforcement share information in a timely manner.

    The Livability Agenda integrates the commitments of more than a dozen
    Federal agencies. The Agenda also supplements the various programs that
    make up the Administration's Community Empowerment Agenda, which is
    designed to encourage reinvestment in existing communities and provide
    greater opportunity for their residents.