DELTA VISION, DELTA VOICES THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA BEYOND 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CLINTON STATEMENT BY VICE PRESIDENT GORE FOREWORD FROM SECRETARY SLATER EXECUTIVE SUMMARY President Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union Address (passages related to the Delta) Summary of the Clinton-Gore Administration’s Budget Proposals for the Delta region THE FUTURE OF THE DELTA: ACTIONS, GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Essay: John Barry, Author of Rising Tide PREFACE FEDERAL ACTIONS, GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS I. Improving the Quality of Life Diversity Housing Education Infrastructure Health Care Hunger, Nutrition and Food Security AmeriCorps and Volunteerism Disaster Assistance Community Law Enforcement II. Revitalizing the Regional Economy Transportation Small Business Development, Access to Capital and Economic Empowerment Job Training, Welfare-to-Work, and Workforce Investment Community Development The Farm Economy 1 III. Protecting and Restoring Natural Resources and the Environment and Enhancing Tourism Natural Resources Environmental issues Tourism IV. Promoting Regional Planning and Development A Permanent Regional Planning and Development Entity Circuit Riders and Technical Assistance VOICES OF THE DELTA The Governors of the Delta States Members of Congress from the Delta Regional Grassroots Organizations Voices of Private Business and Industrial Interests Voices of Diversity Voices of the Farm Crisis Natural Resources Issues Voices from the 1999 Mississippi Delta Listening Sessions CONCLUSION APPENDICES A: List of Delta States, Counties and Parishes B: Chronology of the Mississippi Delta 2000 Regional Initiative C: Delta Memorandum of Understanding and Signatories (Original and Expanded) D: Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities Listing E: Additional Material on Housing and Urban Development Programs and Other Housing Issues 2 STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON May 4, 2000 I am deeply grateful to all the people of the Delta and to the Federal agencies taking part in the Mississippi Delta: Beyond 2000 Initiative. You have faithfully continued the work we embarked upon more than a decade ago in the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission, which I was privileged to lead. I thank you for your counsel and recommendations for the future development of this vast region that lies at the center of America. Now, we must persevere in this initiative to ensure that people throughout the region can participate fairly and fully in the unprecedented prosperity our nation enjoys today and that we are committed to continue in the new century and the new millennium. As a son of Arkansas, I have traveled the beautiful valleys, wetlands, and other natural splendors of the Delta for much of my life. During my New Markets tour last year, I visited several Delta communities in Mississippi and Arkansas and met with many grassroots leaders. Those meetings only reinforced my determination to bring together Federal, State, and local government and the private sector to revitalize the region. We must continue to encourage private sector investment in underserved areas through such initiatives as Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, Community Development Financial Institutions, the Community Reinvestment Act, and other financial incentives. In my State of the Union address earlier this year, I announced a budget proposal of more than $150 million in specific set-aside funding targeted for the Delta—funding to promote job creation, to improve education, housing, and health care, to aid small business development, and to create community development initiatives. This Report presents an additional and impressive array of thoughtful recommendations for the Delta's future development, from the establishment of a permanent regional commission to the "circuit rider" proposal for technical assistance for the poorest and smallest communities. Much like the original Delta Report, it is a “handbook for action” that any concerned citizen can use to make a difference. I am especially grateful for the thoughtful contributions from so many grassroots leaders and organizations from the region, who are the true and powerful voices of the Delta. From the banks of the Potomac to the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, we are listening to those voices, and we are committed to working together to make our vision of prosperity and opportunity a reality for the people of the Mississippi Delta in the 21st century and the new millennium. 3 STATEMENT BY VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE The roots of the Delta 2000 Initiative go back more than a decade. As Governor of Arkansas, President Clinton provided leadership from the initiative’s earliest days. Today we can say that progress has been made. However, poverty in the Delta remains at unacceptable levels: it is 175 percent of the national average and more than half of the Delta counties have had poverty rates higher than 20 percent for the past four decades. Per capita income in the Delta’s distressed communities is still only 53 percent of the national average. We can do better. We have to do better, and we will do better, because we are committed to ensuring that in this unprecedented period of prosperity we leave no one behind who works hard and plays by the rules. The title of this Report captures the heart and essence of the work that lies ahead. Every initiative needs a vision, but I especially like the reference to voices—the voices of the people who live and work in the Delta and who call the region home. These voices are rich in all their cultural diversity. Local officials, business leaders, educators, church and community leaders, and common people all came together to have their thoughts and interests included. This Report illustrates that there are people behind this initiative; they are the driving force of its aspirations, and they are telling us where they are going with their dreams. In my role as the Chairman of the President’s Community Empowerment Board (CEB), I have found that Federal programs at their best can only serve as catalysts and tools for action. However, it will be the more than 8.3 million people in the 219 counties and seven States who have helped to formulate the recommendations found in this Report who will continue to take actions to form partnerships with business, nonprofits, and local and State organizations to meet the unique challenges faced in this region. I would like to thank Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater and the members of the inter-agency task force for their work on behalf of this effort. Secretary Slater was with the State of Arkansas when he initially became involved in this project, and I genuinely appreciate his dedication in staying with it for so long. This is also an opportunity for me to express my personal gratitude, since part of my home State of Tennessee is in the Delta. I certainly know firsthand the great need that exists in underserved communities within the Delta region and around our nation. The Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) program is a major Administration innovation in the field of community development and is very much a part of this initiative. In 1994, we announced eight rural and five urban EZs and ECs in the Delta; in the next selection round, another rural EZ was designated. The EZ/EC program embodies what the Delta initiative is all about; it is based upon the principles of sustainable development, leadership from the grassroots level, economic opportunity, long-range strategic planning and community-based partnerships. The 26 Federal agencies that comprise the CEB have been working in partnership with the Delta communities and the private sector to make a real difference. In 1998, I was proud to join Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Secretary Slater to host the signing of the Southern EZ/EC Forum Partnership Agreement by the community leaders and organizations in the Delta region Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities. The agreement committed all parties to work cooperatively to achieve sustainable economies and human development to raise the quality of life in the Lower Mississippi Delta region. 4 Today’s Report presents many recommendations in transportation, health care, education, environmental and natural resource protection, and economic development. This Administration has proposed an additional $159 million for increased economic opportunities in the Delta, including $30 million to create a new Delta Regional Authority to bring resources of a Federal-State partnership to support economic growth. This funding will invest in infrastructure to support rural housing, transportation, and public works. In addition, it will support rural businesses and provide training for dislocated workers and technical support for teachers. Let us all join together to push for the continued success of this initiative and bring the economic prosperity of America to all Americans. I assure you that I will be doing everything in my power to make the Delta Vision, Delta Voices a reality. 5 FOREWORD FROM RODNEY E. SLATER, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION Mr. President: It has been my privilege to work with you on the Mississippi Delta Regional Initiative— an issue of vital importance to the social and economic policy agenda of the Clinton-Gore Administration. As a son of the Delta, perhaps no issue has more significance to me personally or more potential for human impact than this Administration’s ongoing initiative to address the social and economic challenges facing the Mississippi Delta region of the United States. This Report presents a dynamic series of goals and recommendations for the region’s future as we enter the new century and a new millennium. While gradual progress has been made in many areas across the Delta, we realize the compelling need to work together for a historically impoverished region that has bestowed a rich cultural heritage upon our nation and contributed mightily to its productivity, yet still lags behind in the realms of social and economic progress. I know of the great work ethic and values of the Delta’s people, as well as the region’s poverty and limitless potential.