He advanced new ideas consistent with those values and governed beyond the old politics of left and right to build a new vital center in American life. In so doing he redefined the role of government for 21st century America: to create the conditions and give people the tools to make the most of their own lives. From beginning to end he pursued this vision, sometimes in conflict with the traditional positions of his own party, and often in the face of attacks from an increasingly partisan opposition party. President Clinton’s political philosophy, known as the Third Way, attracted followers around the world and continues to inspire innovative leaders in many nations.

Here are the results of eight years of sustained effort by President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and one of the most accomplished - and most diverse - administrations ever to serve the American people.

THE STRONGEST ECONOMY IN A GENERATION
THE LONGEST ECONOMIC EXPANSION IN U.S. HISTORY

Moving from Record Deficits to Record Surplus
Paying Down the National Debt
Nearly 23 Million Jobs
Fastest and Longest Real Wage Growth in Over Three Decades
Family Income Reached Record Highs
Lowest Unemployment in Over Three Decades
Record High Homeownership Rates
Saving Social Security
Lowest Poverty Rates Since the 1970s
Lowest Child Poverty Since 1978

WELFARE REFORM AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
MOVING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS FROM WELFARE TO WORK

Lowest Percentage of Americans on Welfare in 37 Years as More Recipients Go to Work
Creating New Tools to Help Families Move from Welfare to Work
Encouraging Investment in Underserved Communities with the New Markets Initiative
Expanding Investment in Urban and Rural Areas
Building Community Development Banks
Providing Incentives to Save
A Strong Community Reinvestment Act

ENVIRONMENT
GROWING THE ECONOMY AND IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT

Protected 58.5 Million Acres of Heritage Forests,
Adopted the Most Stringent Air Pollution Standards in the Nation’s History
Created Rules to Reduce Pollution from Vehicles
Expanded the Safe Drinking Water Act to Protect 40 Million Additional Americans
Launched the Clean Water Action Plan
Accelerated Cleanups at the Worst Toxic Waste Sites
Worked Against Global Warming
Provided an Example with Government Responsibility
Launched Over 50 Major Initiatives on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Redeveloped Brownfields
Preserved Our Lands Legacy
Created or Expanded 22 National Monuments
Created Death Valley National Park
Passed Everglades Restoration
Reached Agreements to Defend Yellowstone and Save California Redwoods
Established the 43-Million-Acre National Landscape Conservation System
Forged New Conservation Partnerships with Farmers
Designated 14 American Heritage Rivers
Safeguarded the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Saved Pacific Salmon
Created Habitat Conservation Plans on 20 Million Acres of Private Land
Strengthened Refuge Protection for Wildlife
Created the 84 Million-Acre Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve
Blocked Harmful Offshore Oil Drilling
Protected Marine Mammals and National Marine Sanctuaries
Promoted Environmental Justice
Expanded Communities’ Right to Know About 2,800 Chemicals and 27 Toxins
Expanded Recycling of Waste Materials
Signed the Food Quality Safety Act,
Reduced Environmental Health Risks to Children
Assessed Record Civil and Criminal Penalties for Polluters
Defended Landmark Environmental Legislation
Passed the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
Worked to Heal the Ozone Layer
Provided Leadership in Financing the World’s Largest Environmental Fund

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Completion of the Sequencing of the Human Genome
Protected Individuals Rights and Promoted Scientific Discovery
Encouraged the Growth and Application of Nanotechnology
Unprecedented Investment in Biomedical Research
Sustaining U.S. Leadership across the Scientific Frontiers
Advanced America’s Civil Space Program
Strengthening the Economy and National Security with Information Technology
Investing in Energy Research

FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES

Tax Cuts for Working Families
Helping Parents Balance Work and Family
Improved Access to Affordable, Quality Child Care and Early Childhood Programs
Increased the Minimum Wage
Helped Older Workers
Addressed the Concerns of Veterans
Ensured Health Care is Available for Veterans
Signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act
Protecting Children
Supporting Community Service
President Clinton’s One America Initiative
Promoting Opportunity and Fighting Discrimination for All Americans
Helping Our Nation’s First Americans
Providing Fairness for Legal Immigrants
Increase Enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act
Doubled Child Support Collections
Teen Births at the Lowest Rate on Record

EDUCATION

Provided for the largest increase in aid to higher education since the GI Bill 50 years ago
Opened the Doors of College to All Americans with the Hope Scholarships and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits
Expanded Work Study and Pell Grants
Made College More Affordable
More High-Quality Teachers with Smaller Class Sizes
Enacted the GEAR UP College Opportunity Program for Middle School Children
Turned Around Failing Schools
Ensuring a Safe School Environment and Protecting Children
Investing in School Construction
Providing Safe After-School Opportunities for 1.3 Million Students Each Year
Expanding Choice and Accountability in Public Schools
Teaching Every Child to Read
Expanding Access to Technology

HEALTH CARE

Enacted Most Comprehensive Medicare Reforms in History
Extended the Life of the Medicare Trust Fund
Enacted Single Largest Investment in Health Care for Children since 1965
Ensured Medical Privacy
Enacted Worker Incentives Improvement Act to Permit People with Disabilities to Work Without Losing Health Insurance
Significantly Increased Spending on HIV/AIDS
Led Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Expanded Health Care forWomen with Cancer
Reversed the Uninsurance Trend Line by Increasing the Number of Americans with Health Insurance
Enacted Landmark Health Insurance Reforms
Extended Strong, Enforceable Patient Protections for Tens of Millions of Americans
Signed Mental Health Parity Provisions into Law and Held First White House Conference on Mental Health
Signed Legislation to End Drive-Through Deliveries
Enacted Reforms That Constrained Medicare Program Growth and Modernized Its Benefits
Reduced Medicare Fraud and Waste
Contributed Half a Trillion Dollars to the Budget through Successfully Managing Federal Health Programs
Doubled Biomedical Research Funding
Implemented Comprehensive Nursing Home Quality Initiative
Enacted Historic Comprehensive FDA Reform That Expedited the Review and Approval of New Drug Products
Ensured Safe Food for America’s Families
Raised Child Immunization Rates and Reduced Infant Mortality to All-Time Low
Promoted Reproductive Health
Presided Over Dramatic Public Health Improvements That Increased Life Expectancy and Decreased Teenage Pregnancy, Smoking, and Illicit Drug Use as well as Cancer and HIV Mortality Rates
Promoted Public Health Improvements for Minorities
Issued Regulation That Reduces Health Care Red Tape and Accompanying Wasteful Costs

CRIME AND DRUGS

Lowest Crime Rates in a Generation
Putting 100,000 More Police on the Streets
More Than 1 Million Felons, Fugitives, and Domestic Abusers Denied Guns
Passed the Assault Weapons Ban
Cracking Down on the Most Serious Gun Criminals
Developed Comprehensive Anti-Drug Strategy Including a $195 Million National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
Preventing Violence with the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative
Fighting Hate Crimes
Protecting Children from Sex Offenders
Preventing and Fighting Against Domestic Violence

PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Historic Protection of Religious Liberty
Issued a Comprehensive Set of Religious Guidelines for Public Schools in 1995
Signed into law the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act of 2000
Supported the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
Signed into Law the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996
Amendments to Hate Crimes Penalties in Military Code
Fought for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Signed the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1998

CHANGING THE WAY GOVERNMENT DOES BUSINESS
DOING MORE FOR LESS

Results from the Reinventing Government Initiative
Smallest Federal Civilian Workforce in 40 Years
Lowest Federal Spending as a Share of the Economy Since 1966
Streamlined Regulations
Slowest Per Capita Growth of Government Spending Since the 1950’s
Increasing Participation in Our Democracy with the Motor Voter Law
The Lowest Tax Burden on Middle Income Families
Enacted the Workforce Investment Act

FOREIGN POLICY
THE WORLD’S STRONGEST FORCE FOR A 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY, FREEDOM AND SECURITY

Peace in the Middle East
Peace in Northern Ireland
Peace in Bosnia
Peace in Kosovo

Arms Control and Nonproliferation
Anti-Terrorism
Iraq
Modernizing Armed Forces and Increasing Readiness
Colombia
Strengthening Others’ Capabilities
Haiti
Democratic Transitions
Human Rights
Trade
Support for Market Economies
Institutions of Cooperation
Cooperation on Global Problems
NATO Enlargement
Asian Allies
Russia
China