    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 9, 1997]
    [Pages 713-714]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval
    Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Legislation
    June 9, 1997

    To the House of Representatives:
        I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 1469, the
    ``Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act, FY 1997.'' The
    congressional majority--despite the obvious and urgent need to speed
    critical relief to people in the Dakotas, Minnesota, California, and 29
    other States ravaged by flooding and other natural disasters--has chosen
    to weigh down this legislation with a series of unacceptable provisions
    that it knows will draw my veto. The time has come to stop playing
    politics with the lives of Americans in need and to send me a clean,
    unencumbered disaster relief bill that I can and will sign the moment it
    reaches my desk.
        On March 19, 1997, I sent the Congress a request for emergency
    disaster assistance and urged the Congress to approve it promptly. Both
    the House and Senate Appropriations Committees acted expeditiously to
    approve the legislation. The core of this bill, appropriately, provides
    $5.8 billion of much-needed help to people in hard-hit States and, in
    addition, contains $1.8 billion for the Department of Defense related to
    our peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia and Southwest Asia. Regrettably, the
    Republican leadership chose to include contentious issues totally
    unrelated to disaster assistance, needlessly delaying essential relief.
        The bill contains a provision that would create an automatic
    continuing resolution for all of fiscal year 1998. While the goal of
    ensuring that the Government does not shut down again is a worthy one,
    this provision is ill-advised. The issue here is not about shutting down
    the Government. Last month, I reached agreement with the Bipartisan
    Leadership of Congress on a plan to balance the budget by 2002. That
    agreement is the right way to finish the job of putting our fiscal house
    in order, consistent with our values and principles. Putting the
    Government's finances on automatic pilot is not.
        The backbone of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement is the plan to
    balance the budget while providing funds for critical investments in
    education, the environment, and other priorities. The automatic
    continuing resolution would provide resources for fiscal year 1998 that
    are $18 billion below the level contained in the Bipartisan Budget
    Agreement, threatening such investments in our future. For example:
    college aid would be reduced by $1.7 billion, eliminating nearly 375,000
    students from the Pell Grant program; the number of women, infants, and
    children receiving food and other services through WIC would be cut by
    an average of 500,000 per month; up to 56,000 fewer children would
    participate in Head Start; the number of border patrol and FBI agents
    would be reduced, as would the number of air traffic controllers; and
    our goal of cleaning up 900 Superfund sites by the year 2000 could not
    be accomplished.
        The bill also contains a provision that would permanently prohibit
    the Department of Commerce from using statistical sampling techniques in
    the 2000 decennial census for the purpose of apportioning
    Representatives in Congress among the States. Without sampling, the cost
    of the decennial census will increase as its accuracy, especially with
    regard to minorities and groups that are traditionally undercounted,
    decreases substantially. The National Academy of Sciences and other
    experts have recommended the use of statistical sampling for the 2000
    decennial census.
        The Department of Justice, under the Carter and Bush Administrations
    and during my Administration, has issued three opinions regarding the
    constitutionality and legality of sampling in the decennial census. All
    three opinions concluded that the Constitution and relevant statutes
    permit the use of sampling in the decennial census. Federal courts that
    have addressed the issue have held that the Constitution and Federal
    statutes allow sampling.
        The enrolled bill contains an objectionable provision that would
    promote the conversion of certain claimed rights-of-way into paved
    highways across sensitive national parks, public lands, and military
    installations. Under the provision, a 13-member commission would study
    the issue and provide recommendations to resolve outstanding Revised
    Statute (R.S.) 2477 claims. R.S. 2477 was enacted in 1866 to grant
    rights-of-way for the construction of highways over public lands not
    already reserved for public uses. It

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    was repealed in 1976, subject to ``valid, existing rights.''
        This provision in the enrolled bill is objectionable because it is
    cumbersome, flawed, and duplicates the extensive public hearings
    conducted by the Department of the Interior over the last 4 years. In
    addition, the proposed commission excludes the Secretary of Defense, but
    military installations are among the Federal properties that would be
    affected by the recommendations of the commission. Furthermore, there is
    no assurance that the proposed commission would provide a balanced
    representation of views or proper public participation. Under the
    provision, the Secretary of the Interior can disapprove the commission's
    recommendations, preventing their submission to the Congress under
    ``fast-track'' procedures in the House and Senate. I believe--and my
    Administration has stated--that a better approach would be for Interior
    to submit a legislative proposal to the Congress within 180 days to
    clarify R.S. 2477 claim issues permanently, with full congressional and
    public consideration.
        The enrolled bill contains an objectionable provision that funds the
    Commission for the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. I agree with
    the Fraternal Order of Police and other national law enforcement
    organizations that certain activities of the Commission, such as
    evaluating the handling of specific investigative cases, could interfere
    with Federal law enforcement policy and operations. This type of
    oversight is most properly the role of Congress, not an unelected review
    board. If external views about law enforcement programs are needed, a
    better approach would be to fund the National Commission to Support Law
    Enforcement.
        I also object to two other items in the bill. One reduces funding
    for the Ounce of Prevention Council by roughly one-third. This reduction
    would substantially diminish the work of the Council in coordinating
    crime prevention efforts at the Federal level and assisting community
    efforts to make their neighborhoods safer. The Council is in the process
    of awarding $1.8 million for grants to prevent youth substance abuse and
    of evaluating its existing grant programs. The Council has received over
    300 applications from communities and community-based organizations from
    all across the country for these grants. In addition, the bill reduces
    funding for the Department of Defense Dual-Use Applications Program.
    That program helps to develop technologies used and tested by the cost-
    conscious commercial sector and to incorporate them into military
    systems. Reducing funding for this program would result in higher costs
    for future defense systems. The projects selected in this year's
    competition will save the Department of Defense an estimated $3 billion.
        Finally, by including extraneous issues in this bill, the Republican
    leadership has also delayed necessary funding for maintaining military
    readiness. The Secretary of Defense has written the Congress detailing
    the potential disruption of military training.
        I urge the Congress to remove these extraneous provisions and to
    send me a straightforward disaster relief bill that I can sign promptly,
    so that we can help hard-hit American families and businesses as they
    struggle to rebuild. Americans in need should not have to endure further
    delay.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    June 9, 1997.