Washington People with long-term care needs or their family members would gain a yearly tax credit of $1,000 under a $6 billion package proposed by President Clinton. The five-year initiative would help 2 million Americans and cost $5.5 billion over five years, according to the White House.

It would be paid for by closing tax code loopholes and other measures that must be negotiated between Congress and the White House, said Donna Shalala, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

"It is far better to devote this money to help keep the elderly and the disabled at home than to spend the same amount to pay for them to live away from home," Clinton said in announcing the package in January.

Clinton's four-part plan also calls for a $625 million network of state-run centers for caregivers to access community resources and adult day-care services; a $10 million educational campaign to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their long-term-care options; and private long-term-care insurance for federal employees at group rates in an effort to encourage private companies to follow suit.

At press time, the proposal-the most aggressive move regarding care of the elderly and disabled since the collapse of long-term care health insurance for all Americans in 1994-was to be part of Clinton's fiscal 2000 budget submitted to Congress in January. The plan appears to have bipartisan support on Capitol Hill; Republicans point out the tax credit was part of the 1995 GOP spending plan that Clinton vetoed.

Industry groups welcomed the president's proposal.

"This initiative is an important first step in recognizing the financial and emotional stress faced by thousands of caregivers who are providing unpaid assistance to elderly or disabled relatives," said Val Halamandaris, president of the National Association for Home Care.

Family caregivers provide as much as 90 percent of all long-term-care services, with their services valued at $194 billion annually, said Suzanne Mintz, president of the National Family Caregivers Association. "The president's dramatic announcement of a broad range of initiatives on caregiving finally recognizes family caregivers," she said.