    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [December 19, 1995]
    [Pages 1910-1911]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval the
    Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related
    Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996
    December 19, 1995

    To the House of Representatives:
        I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 2076, the
    ``Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and
    Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996.''
        This bill does not meet the priorities and needs of our Nation and
    people. It would undermine our ability to fight the war on crime;
    decimate technology programs that are critical to building a strong U.S.
    economy; and weaken our leadership in the world by drastically cutting
    funding for international organizations, peacekeeping, and other
    international affairs activities.
        First, the bill represents an unacceptable retreat in our fight
    against crime and drugs. It eliminates my COPS initiative (Community
    Oriented Policing Services) to put 100,000 more police officers on the
    street. Already, this initiative has put thousands of police on the
    street, working hand-in-hand with their communities to fight crime. The
    block grant that H.R. 2076 would offer instead would not guarantee a
    single new police officer. That's not what the American people want, and
    I won't accept it. As I have said, I will not sign any version of this
    bill that does not fund the COPS initiative as a free-

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    standing, discretionary grant program, as authorized.
        The bill also eliminates my ``drug courts'' initiative. And it
    unwisely abandons crime prevention efforts such as the Ounce of
    Prevention Council and the Community Relations Service. I am also
    disappointed that the funding levels in the bill fall short of my
    request for the Drug Enforcement Administration, and OCDETF (Organized
    Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force). This is no time to let down our
    guard in the fight against drugs.
        Second, the bill constitutes a short-sighted assault on the Commerce
    Department's technology programs that work effectively with business to
    expand our economy, help Americans compete in the global marketplace,
    and create high quality jobs. As we approach a new, technology-driven
    century, it makes no sense to eliminate an industry-driven, highly
    competitive, cost-shared initiative like our Advanced Technology Program
    (ATP), which fosters technology development, promotes industrial
    alliances, and creates jobs. Nor does it make sense to sharply cut
    funding for measures that will help assure our long-term growth and
    competitiveness--such as our National Information Infrastructure grants
    program, which helps connect schools, hospitals, and libraries to the
    information superhighway; the GLOBE program, which promotes the study of
    science and the environment in our schools; the Manufacturing Extension
    Partnership, which helps small manufacturers meet the hi-tech demands of
    the new marketplace; Defense Conversion; or the Technology
    Administration. And I oppose the bill's harmful cuts for the Census
    Bureau and for economic and statistical analysis.
        Third, I am deeply concerned that this bill would undermine our
    global leadership and impair our ability to protect and defend important
    U.S. interests around the world--both by making unwise cuts in funding
    for international organizations and peacekeeping activities, and by
    cutting programs of the State Department, the Arms Control and
    Disarmament Agency, and the United States Information Agency. These cuts
    would impair our ability to support important activities such as the
    nonproliferation of weapons, the promotion of human rights, and the
    control of infectious disease like the Ebola virus. Moreover, sections
    of the bill include inappropriate restrictive language, including
    language limiting the conduct of U.S. diplomatic relations with Vietnam,
    that I believe infringe on Presidential prerogatives. And I cannot
    accept the provision that would cut off all funding for these agencies
    on April 1, 1996, unless the State Department Authorization Act and
    related legislation had been signed into law.
        Fourth, the bill includes three additional provisions that I cannot
    accept.
        It cripples the capacity of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to
    fulfill its historic mission of serving people in need--slashing its
    overall funding, sharply limiting the administrative funds LSC needs to
    conduct its business, and imposing excessive restrictions on LSC's
    operations. LSC should be allowed to carry on its work in an appropriate
    manner, both in its basic programs and in special initiatives like the
    migrant legal services program.
        Section 103 of the bill would prohibit the use of funds for
    performing abortions, except in cases involving rape or danger to the
    life of the mother. The Justice Department has advised that there is a
    substantial risk that this provision would be held unconstitutional as
    applied to female prison inmates.
        The bill also includes an ill-considered legislative rider that
    would impose a moratorium on future listings under the Endangered
    Species Act by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
    other agencies. That rider not only would make bad policy, it also has
    no place in this bill.
        Finally, I would urge the Congress to continue the Associate
    Attorney General's office.
        For these reasons and others my Administration has conveyed to the
    Congress in earlier communications, I cannot accept this bill. H.R. 2076
    does not reflect my priorities or the values of the American people. I
    urge the Congress to send me an appropriations bill that truly serves
    this Nation and its people.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    December 19, 1995.