    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 27, 1995]
    [Pages 1690-1691]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
    Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996
    October 27, 1995

        I have signed into law H.R. 1976, the ``Agriculture, Rural
    Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
    Appropriations Act, 1996.''
        I urge the Congress to complete action on the remaining regular FY
    1996 appropriations bills and to send them to me in acceptable form.
    Last year, the Congress sent to me--and I signed--all 13 appropriations
    bills by September 30. Regrettably, this is only the second bill that I
    have been able to sign for this fiscal year.
        This Act provides $13.4 billion in discretionary budget authority
    for programs of the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug
    Administration, including the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for
    Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); food safety programs; and various
    programs to protect and support rural communities.
        The Act also provides a total of $41.2 billion for the Food Stamp
    program, the Child Nutrition program, the Commodity Credit Corporation,
    and other mandatory programs.
        In signing this bill, I have made it possible for USDA to promptly
    send full-year payments of nearly $1.8 billion for the Conservation
    Reserve Program. This program compensates farmers for protecting
    environmentally sensitive cropland.
        I am pleased that H.R. 1976 provides the resources necessary to keep
    the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
    Children on the Administration's path to full funding. An estimated 7.5
    million women and children will be served, 400,000 more than in FY 1995.
    This program provides important nutrition benefits and health-related
    services.
        I am also pleased that the Congress continued funding at my
    requested level for the Child Nutrition program and other important
    nutrition programs for needy Americans, including the Commodity
    Supplemental Food Program, Soup Kitchens, and the Nutrition Program for
    the Elderly.
        Funds included in the bill for the Agricultural Conservation Program
    will provide Federal cost-share financing to farmers for needed soil and
    water conservation practices and structures, including water quality
    improvements.
        The bill also includes funds I requested for farm operating and farm
    ownership loans, which help new farmers get started in agriculture, as
    well as those farmers who do not quality for private-sector financing.
        In addition, H.R. 1976 omits many of the troublesome provisions
    contained in earlier versions of the bill that would have compromised
    the ability of Federal nutrition programs to assist low-income
    Americans. However, I am concerned about the provisions to reduce food
    stamp spending in an appropriations bill. This action may lead to
    proposals for additional food stamp cuts in the reconciliation process.
    This program, which assists almost 27 million low-income children,
    elderly, and working family members, continues to be the cornerstone of
    the Federal nutrition safety net.
        The Act permits full funding for the Export Enhancement Program, as
    I requested. This program assists exports of American agricultural
    products, which reached an all-time high in FY 1995 of $53 billion--a
    trend we would like to continue.
        While funding provided by H.R. 1976 is an improvement over funding
    levels in earlier versions of the bill, I am still disappointed by its
    reductions from my request for rural development. By contrast the Act
    includes $58 million in unrequested funds for earmarked university
    research facilities. I believe rural Americans would have been better
    served had these funds instead been channeled into rural development

    [[Page 1691]]

    programs. Doing so could have, for example, helped 7,000 rural families
    realize the American dream of owning their own home through USDA's
    single-family loan program.
        Section 726 raises constitutional concerns and I have therefore
    asked the Department of Justice to advise me as to the validity and
    enforceability of that section.
        Despite these concerns the overall bill is acceptable because of the
    very positive provisions I have already mentioned and because of the
    benefits its programs provide to farm families and rural communities.
        Again, I urge the Congress to meet its responsibilities by sending
    me the remaining regular FY 1996 appropriations bills in acceptable
    form.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    October 27, 1995.

    Note: H.R. 1976, approved October 27, was assigned Public Law No. 104-
    37.