June 18, 1999
Edinburgh, TX — Vice President
Gore, joined by President Clinton, announced a series of new measures
to promote economic opportunity and community revitalization at
a While House convening of community leaders in the Rio Grande
Valley, Texas.
This 5th Annual White House Community Empowerment Conference —the first such Conference in the Rio Grande or in a rural area —brought together representatives from Empowerment Zones and Enhanced Enterprise Communities from across the country.
"It is vitally important that, as we enter the 21st Century, we work to ensure that all of America's communities will be able to compete and succeed," Vice President Gore said. "By working together, we can ensure that no one is left behind."
At the Conference the Vice President announced two new initiatives that will help Empowerment Zones and other under served urban and rural areas, including:
$32 million in grants to promote Brownfields redevelopment
The signing of an Executive Order to promote regional economic development along the Southwest Border
"These measures will give the people that need it most additional tools to help create greater opportunity and improve their living standards," said the Vice President. "And we will continue to work with localities, Congress, the private sector and others to build on our community empowerment efforts."
The Vice President specifically called upon Congress to enact the President's FY 2000 budget request, which provides $1.8 billion in flexible grant funding over the next ten years to the communities that were designated as Round II Empowerment Zones in January 1999.
The Conference, held at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburgh Texas, was the first such Conference that included the 20 new Second-Round Empowerment Zones. The meeting was designed to allow the First Round and Second-Round Zones to share lessons and advice with one another.
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