[House Document 106-148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-148
________________________________________________________________________

 
     VETO MESSAGE FOR COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE APPROPRIATIONS

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

A VETO MESSAGE FOR H.R. 2670, THE ``DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, 
  AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
  2000''




   October 26, 1999.--Message and accompanying bill referred to the 
         Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed

                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
79-012                     WASHINGTON : 1999

To the House of Representatives
    I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 2670, the 
``Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000.''
    This legislation should embody the continuing commitment of 
this Administration on a broad range of fundamental principles. 
First and foremost amongst these tenets is the notion that the 
United States of America should be the safest country in the 
world. Our families must feel secure in their neighborhoods. 
Since 1993, the progress realized toward that end has been 
impressive and must not be impeded.
    Moreover, America must continue to lead the community of 
nations toward a safer, more prosperous and democratic world. 
This guidepost has for generations advanced the cause of peace 
and freedom internationally, and an erosion of this policy is 
untenable and unacceptable at this critical moment in history.
    This great Nation serves as example to the world of a just 
and humane society. We must continue to lead by our example and 
maintain a system that vigorously protects and rigorously 
respects the civil rights of individuals, the dignity of every 
citizen, and the basic justice and fairness afforded to every 
American.
    Unfortunately, this bill fails to uphold these principles.
    Specifically, and most notably, the bill fails to 
adequately fund the proposed 21st Century Policing Initiative, 
which builds on the success of the Community Oriented Policing 
Services (COPS) program. I requested $1.275 billion in new 
appropriations, and this bill provides only $325 million. To 
date, the COPS program has funded more than 100,000 additional 
police officers for our streets. The 21st Century Policing 
initiative would place an additional 30,000 to 50,000 police 
officers on the street over the next 5 years and would expand 
the concept of community policing to include community 
prosecution, law enforcement technology assistance, and crime 
prevention. Funding the COPS program required a bipartisan 
commitment, and it paid off; recently released statistics show 
that we have the lowest murder rate in 31 years and the longest 
continuous decline in crime on record. I strongly believe we 
must forge a similar commitment to support the COPS program's 
logical successor.
    The bill would also threaten America's ability to lead in 
the world by failing to meet our obligation to pay our dues and 
our debts to the United Nations. This is a problem I have been 
working with the Congress to resolve for several years, but 
this bill fails to provide a solution.
    Though the bill does include adequate funds to support our 
annual contribution to the United Nations regular budget, it 
conditions the funding on separate authorizing legislation, 
continuing an unacceptable linkage to an unrelated issue. For 
this reason, because of additional provisions, and because the 
bill is inconsistent with provisions agreed to by the 
authorizing committees, the bill would still cause the United 
States to lose its vote in the United Nations. It would 
undercut efforts that matter to America in which the U.N. plays 
an important role, from our fight against terrorism and 
proliferation, to our efforts to promote human rights, the 
well-being of children, and the health of our environment. It 
would undermine our ability to shape the U.N.'s agenda in all 
these areas and to press for reforms that will make its work 
more effective. All this is unacceptable. Great nations meet 
their responsibilities, and I am determined that we will meet 
ours.
    In addition, the bill includes only $200 million for 
International Peacekeeping Activities, a reduction of almost 
60-percent from my request. The requested level of $485 million 
is necessary to meet anticipated peacekeeping requirements in 
East Timor, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 
Ethiopia, and Eritrea. In each of these places, the United 
States has worked with allies and friends to end conflicts that 
have claimed countless innocent lives and thrown whole regions 
into turmoil. In each case, the U.N. either has been or may be 
asked to help implement fragile peace agreements, by performing 
essential tasks such as separating adversaries, maintaining 
cease-fires, enabling refugees to go home, training police 
forces, and overseeing civilian institutions. In each case, as 
in all U.N. peacekeeping missions, other countries will pay 75 
percent of the cost and provide virtually all the military 
personnel.
    It is clearly in America's national interest to support an 
institution through which other countries share the burden of 
making peace. Refusing to do our part would be dangerous and 
self-defeating. It could undermine fragile peace agreements 
that America helped forge, and spark new emergencies to which 
we could only respond later at far greater cost. It would leave 
America with an unacceptable choice in times of conflict and 
crisis abroad: a choice between acting alone and doing nothing.
    The bill includes a number of provisions regarding the 
conduct of foreign affairs that raise serious constitutional 
concerns. Provisions concerning Jerusalem are objectionable on 
constitutional, foreign policy, and operational grounds. The 
actions called for by these provisions would prejudice the 
outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian permanent status 
negotiations, which have recently begun and which the parties 
are committed to concluding within a year. The bill also 
includes a provision that could be read to prevent the United 
States from engaging in diplomatic efforts regarding the Kyoto 
protocol. Applying restrictions to the President's authority to 
engage in international negotiations and activities raises 
serious constitutional concerns. Other provisions that should 
be deleted from the bill because they would unconstitutionally 
constrain the president's authority include provisions on 
Haiti, Vietnam, and command and control of United Nations 
Peacekeeping efforts. My Administration's objections to these 
and other language provisions have been made clear in previous 
statements of Administration policy regarding this bill.
    This bill does not contain a needed hate crimes provision 
that was included in the Senate version of the bill. I urge the 
Congress to pass legislation in a timely manner that would 
strengthen the Federal Government's ability to combat hate 
crimes by relaxing jurisdictional obstacles and by giving 
Federal prosecutors the ability to prosecute hate crimes that 
are based on sexual orientation, gender, or disability, along 
with those based on race, color, religion, and natural origin.
    The bill freezes the funding level for the Legal Services 
Corporation. Adequate funding for legal services is essential 
to ensuring that all citizens have access to the Nation's 
justice system. I urge the Congress to fully fund my request 
which provides an increase of $40 million over the FY 1999 
enacted level. Also, funding for the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is frozen at the enacted level. 
This level would undermine EEOC's progress in reducing the 
backlog of employment discrimination cases.
    Similarly, inadequate funding is provided for the United 
States Commission on Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Division 
of the Department of Justice. The bill does not fund my 
requested $13 million increase for the Civil Rights Division, 
including increases for law enforcement actions related to hate 
crimes, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and fair housing 
and lending. I ask the Congress to restore requested funds for 
these law enforcement enhancements.
    The bill contains adequate funding of the decennial census, 
but I oppose language that could inhibit the Census Bureau's 
ability to actually conduct the census. The bill would require 
the Census Bureau to obtain approval from certain committees if 
it chooses to shift funds among eight functions or frameworks. 
This approval process would impose an unnecessary and 
potentially time-consuming constraint on the management of the 
decennial census. It is imperative that we move forward to the 
census; this legislation could impede it.
    The United States has recently entered into the U.S.-Canada 
Pacific Salmon Agreement. The agreement ends years of 
contention between the U.S. and Canada regarding expired 
fishing harvest restrictions and provides for the improved 
fisheries management. This bill includes extraneous legislative 
riders that would hinder the implementation of that important 
Agreement. These riders would prohibit the application of the 
Endangered Species Act to Alaskan salmon fisheries and would 
change the voting structure of the Pacific Salmon Commission, 
the decision-making body established by the Agreement. In 
essence, the voting structure rider would prevent the Federal 
Government from negotiating agreements that balance the 
interests of all States. In addition to the riders, the bill 
provides only $10 million of the $60 million requested to 
implement the Salmon Agreement. Similarly, funding for the 
Salmon Recovery Fund fails far short of that needed to work 
cooperatively with the States of Washington, Oregon, 
California, and Alaska and with Treaty Tribes to help them 
mount effective State-based plans to restore Pacific coastal 
salmon runs. These shortfalls together would severely inhibit 
our ability to recovery this important species.
    In addition, the enrolled bill does not provide my request 
for a number of other environmental programs, including my 
Lands Legacy Initiative, Endangered Species Act activities, the 
Clean Water Action Plan, and the Global Learning and 
Observations to Benefit the Environment program. The additional 
funds required to bring these programs to my requested levels 
are small compared to the benefits they provide to our natural 
resources.
    The bill does not include $100 million in new funding for 
the Drug Intervention Program. which would have provided 
critical assistance to State and local governments developing 
and implementing comprehensive systems for drug testing, drug 
treatment, and graduated sanctions for drug offenders. These 
resources are critical to reducing drug use in America.
    The bill does not provide additional requested funding to 
the Justice Department for tobacco litigation. Smoking-related 
health expenses cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year 
through Medicare, veterans' and military health, and other 
Federal health programs. The Department of Justice needs the 
$20 million I requested to represent the interests of the 
taxpayers, who should not have to bear the responsibility for 
these staggering costs.
    This bill would also hurt our Nation's small businesses. 
The level provided for the Small Business Administration's 
(SBA's) operating expenses would inhibit my Administration's 
ability to provide service to the Nation's 24 million small 
businesses. The bill also fails to provide sufficient funds for 
the Disaster Loan program within the SBA. Without additional 
funding, the SBA will not be able to respond adequately to the 
needs arising from Hurricane Floyd and other natural disasters. 
In addition, the bill does not include funds for my New Markets 
Initiatives to invest in targeted rural and urban areas.
    The bill fails to include a proposed provision to clarify 
current law and protect taxpayer interests in the 
telecommunications spectrum auction process. Currently, $5.6 
billion of bid-of-spectrum is tied up in bankruptcy court, with 
a very real risk that spectrum licensees swill be able to 
retain spectrum at a fraction of its real market value. The 
requested provision would maintain the integrity of the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC) auction process while also 
ensuring speedy deployment of new telecommunications services. 
The bill would also deny funds needed by the FCC for 
investments in technology to better serve the communications 
industry. Also, the bill does not provide sufficient funds for 
the continued operations of the FCC. The Commission requires 
additional funds to invest in technology to serve the 
communications industry more effectively.
    In conference action, a rider was added that would amend 
the recently-enacted Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act to expand the prohibition of discrimination 
against individuals who refuse to ``prescribe'' contraceptives 
to individuals who ``otherwise provide for'' contraceptives 
(all nonphysician providers) in the Federal Employees Health 
Benefits Program. As an example, this language could allow 
pharmacists to refuse to dispense contraceptive prescriptions. 
This action violated jurisdictional concerns and is also 
unacceptable policy.
    The bill underfunds a number of high-priority programs 
within the Department of Commerce. My Administration sought an 
additional $9 million to help public broadcasters meet the 
Federal deadline to establish digital broadcasting capability 
by May 1, 2003. The bill would provide less than half of last 
year's funding level for the Critical Infrastructure Assurance 
Office. The bill also fails to fund the Department's other 
programs to protect critical information and communications 
infrastructures. The Congress must restore these funds if the 
Department is to continue performing its important and emerging 
role in coordinating activities that support our economic and 
national security.
    The bill does not include any funds to reimburse Guam and 
other territories for the costs of detaining and repatriating 
smuggled Chinese aliens. These entities deserve our support for 
assisting in this interdiction effort.
    I look forward to working with the Congress to craft an 
appropriations bill that I can support, and to passage of one 
that will facilitate our shared objectives.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, October 25, 1999.
    
    
