    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [September 26, 1996]
    [Pages 1678-1680]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and
    Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997
    September 26, 1996

        Today I have signed into law H.R. 3666, the ``Departments of
    Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent
    Agencies Appropriations Act, FY 1997.''
        The Act provides funding for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and
    Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency
    (EPA), the National Aero-

    [[Page 1679]]

    nautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and
    several other agencies. This Act will fund vital environmental,
    veterans, housing, community development, science, and space programs.
        I am pleased that the Congress has responded to my call to include
    three bipartisan provisions aimed at eliminating a range of health care
    crises that thousands of Americans face every year. These include: a
    mental health parity provision that prohibits health plans from
    establishing separate lifetime and annual limits for mental health; the
    Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act of 1996 that requires
    health insurers to let all new mothers and their babies stay in the
    hospital for at least 48 hours following normal deliveries; and my
    proposal to assist the children of Vietnam veterans who are born with
    the birth defect, spina bifida.
        The Act provides funding for a number of my high-priority investment
    proposals, including the Corporation for National and Community Service
    and the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) fund. The
    National Service initiative gives young people an opportunity to obtain
    funding for a college education while serving the country in areas of
    great need, such as education, environment, public safety, and human
    services. If Congress had provided my request, an additional 6,000 young
    Americans would have had the opportunity to help their community through
    AmeriCorps. Funding for CDFI will increase the flow of capital to
    distressed neighborhoods and their currently underserved, low-income
    residents, and provide financing for neighborhood redevelopment and
    revitalization efforts.
        The Act provides $6.7 billion for the EPA, or 4.5 percent less than
    my request and will enable the EPA to adequately enforce our
    environmental laws and provide for the continued cleanup of hazardous
    waste sites.
        I am, however, concerned about the levels provided for EPA's
    important implementation of the recently enacted safe drinking water and
    food quality legislation, continued progress on the U.S. global climate
    change Action Plan, Montreal Protocol efforts to prevent ozone layer
    depletion, and Boston Harbor clean-up. I will continue to press the
    Congress to provide more adequate funding levels for these and other
    important priorities as my Administration negotiates with the Congress
    over an omnibus appropriations bill to resolve remaining fiscal 1997
    funding issues.
        The Act extends several expiring provisions of last year's bill that
    are critical to HUD's ability to continue its activities, including
    demolishing and replacing the worst public housing, supporting movement
    from dependency to work, and streamlining low-income housing assistance
    and FHA mortgage insurance programs. The bill also provides the tools
    necessary to reduce the costs of section 8 renewals for FHA-insured
    properties, and fully funds my request for the Housing Opportunities for
    Persons With Aids program.
        I am pleased that the bill continues to support States and cities
    through HUD's key economic development programs--Community Development
    Block Grants, and the Home Investment Partnerships program. Funding
    provided for the Youthbuild program will help at-risk youth learn
    valuable skills, that will enable them to gain employment and break the
    cycle of poverty. The bill also provides needed capital and operating
    funds to support the sound operation of over one million public housing
    apartments.
        The Act fully funds my request for the medical care of this Nation's
    veterans and includes incremental funding for a VA hospital at Travis
    Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. I am, however, disappointed
    that the bill does not provide necessary funding for an additional
    hospital in Brevard County, Florida.
        The bill fully funds the Space Station program, and includes needed
    buyout authority for NASA as it moves to restructure itself for the
    future.
        I am concerned, however, that the bill does not provide funding for
    NASA's or EPA's contribution to the innovative GLOBE program. This
    unwarranted change of direction will adversely impact thousands of
    teachers and students in 2,000 U.S. schools and in 35 other countries
    who have invested their resources, time, and energy in this valuable
    program. I plan to press the Congress to include funding for GLOBE in
    the omnibus 1997 funding bill that my Administration is negotiating with
    the Congress.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    [[Page 1680]]

    The White House,

    September 26, 1996.

    Note: H.R. 3666, approved September 26, was assigned Public Law No. 104-
    204.