The payoff in terms of safety took place when the Clinton Administration agreed to raise the orbital inclination of the U.S. space station to allow for flights from the Russian Soyuz and cargo ship Progress, which proved critical after each of the two groundings of the space shuttle program.
The advantages in terms of safety emerged when the Clinton Administration decided to modify the U.S. space station's trajectory, allowing for transportation by the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, which proved essential after both incidents involving the space shuttle program.