[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
[July 3, 1993]
[Pages 995-996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Signing the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1993
July 3, 1993

    On February 17, I unveiled my national economic strategy to increase 
growth and job creation, to reduce the deficit and lower interest rates. 
The plan reflects my belief that the United States had to address long-
standing economic problems so we could expand growth and opportunity for 
all Americans.
    The long-term portion of the plan is nearing completion by the 
Congress. The House and Senate have adopted versions of the plan that 
reduce the deficit by $500 billion while providing needed investments in 
our country's future strength and job creating ability. However, the 
short-term component, a jobs bill designed to keep the recovery on 
track, was not adopted by the Congress.
    While there are some optimistic signs--lower long-term interest 
rates, the lowest mortgage rates in twenty years, and the creation of 
nearly one million jobs since January--I am not satisfied with the 
performance of the economy, many Americans are still hurting, and others 
are uncertain about the future.
    Because too many Americans are still without meaningful work, I was 
pleased to sign into law last night a modest job creating bill, H.R. 
2118, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1993. This Act funds a 
variety of critical programs, including key targeted investments that I 
requested in February. Adoption of this law means

[[Page 996]]

that summer jobs will be created, local law enforcement will be able to 
hire back police laid off during the last recession, and small 
businesses will be able to expand their payrolls, products, and profits. 
It also provides funding that will benefit farmers adversely affected by 
weather conditions in the Midwest.
    This bill does not nearly provide what I believe is necessary to 
help our economy. But every job it creates, every policeman or 
policewoman it rehires, every farm devastated by weather it assists, and 
every small business it enables to grow will make a difference to the 
people and communities served by this legislation.
    These are among the provisions of the Supplemental Appropriations 
Act of 1993:
    The Act provides $220 million for summer jobs for youth, including 
$50 million for the Youth Fair Chance Program. This new program will 
provide a comprehensive range of services to low-income youth in 
communities with high concentrations of poverty.
    The Act provides $150 million for grants to State and local 
government to enhance public safety by hiring additional law enforcement 
personnel. These funds will help fight crime and offset layoffs 
resulting from fiscal restraints on local governments.
    The Act provides $341 million to the Pell Student financial 
assistance program to help address a shortage of funding from previous 
years.
    H.R. 2118 provides $175 million to support nearly $3.2 billion in 
SBA loan guarantees. Regular appropriations for SBA's primary lending 
programs were exhausted in late April, and the program has been shut 
down since then. The supplemental funds provided for SBA will allow 
thousands of businesses to receive loans for start-up, expansion, and 
working capital.
    The Act provides $475 million for veterans compensation and 
pensions, and is necessary to ensure that payments continue to be made 
to veterans through the end of the fiscal year.
    Honoring my commitment to provide additional assistance to victims 
of Hurricane Andrew, the bill makes available $271 million for disaster 
assistance through the Departments of Agriculture and Housing and Urban 
Development.
    These funds are to be used to address the destruction caused by 
Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Iniki, and Typhoon Omar and, in some cases, 
other Presidentially declared disasters as well. These funds are 
necessary to promote rebuilding and to respond effectively to the 
continuing need for disaster relief. In accordance with the applicable 
provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985, as amended, I join the Congress in designating the $63 million 
provided by the Act for agriculture disaster assistance as an emergency 
requirement.
    The Act extends Federal crop disaster relief to farmers with 
disaster-related losses occurring prior to August 1, 1993, without 
appropriating additional disaster funds. Existing emergency funds are 
sufficient to pay roughly 15 cents for every dollar claimed. This 
provision will permit some assistance to farmers impacted by the recent 
floods in the Midwest. I have directed Agriculture Secretary Espy to 
submit to me a crop disaster assistance plan to provide additional 
assistance to these farmers.
    The Act support $73 billion in loan guarantee authority to allow the 
FHA single- and multi-family mortgage insurance programs and the GNMA 
mortgage-backed securities program to continue operating through the 
rest of the year. Absent this supplemental, both programs would soon 
deplete their funding.
    Finally, the Act provides $1.3 billion for the Department of Defense 
and partially offsets the additional funding with nearly $1 billion in 
rescissions. The additional funds are for the costs of Operation Restore 
Hope, Operation Southern Watch, and other requirements.
    I commend the Congress for developing a supplemental appropriations 
bill that supports my investment program and meets urgent National 
needs.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,
July 3, 1993.

Note: H.R. 2118, approved July 2, was assigned Public Law No. 103-50.