    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [August 5, 1997]
    [Pages 1053-1054]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1053]]

    Statement on Signing the Balanced Budget Act of 1997
    August 5, 1997

        It is with great pleasure that I have signed into law today H.R.
    2015, the ``Balanced Budget Act of 1997.'' This Act, together with the
    tax cut legislation that I have also signed today, implements an
    historic agreement that will benefit generations of Americans.
        These bills will balance the budget in a way that honors our values,
    invests in our people, and cuts taxes for middle-class families. They
    are a victory for all parents who want a good education for their
    children and for all families working to build a secure future. This
    package is the best investment we can make in America's future, and it
    prepares our Nation for the 21st century. After decades of deficits, we
    have put America's fiscal house in order again.
        The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 is a balanced package of spending
    provisions that includes targeted program cuts while it invests in
    America's future. It includes the following noteworthy features.
        First, it strengthens our families by extending health insurance
    coverage to up to 5 million children. By investing $24 billion, we will
    be able to provide quality medical care for these children--everything
    from regular check-ups to major surgery. I want every child in America
    to grow up healthy and strong, and this investment takes a major step
    toward that goal. I am also pleased that the Congress agreed to pay for
    this investment in our Nation's children in part with a 15-cents-a-pack
    tax increase on cigarettes. Not only will this new revenue help to pay
    for health care, it will help prevent children from taking up smoking in
    the first place.
        Second, the bill helps finish the job of welfare reform, providing
    $3 billion to move welfare recipients to private sector jobs and $1.5
    billion in Food Stamp assistance for people who want to work, but cannot
    find a job. In addition, it keeps my promise to provide $12 billion to
    restore disability and health benefits for 350,000 legal immigrants.
        Third, H.R. 2015 honors our commitment to our parents by extending
    the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for a decade. It also provides
    structural reforms that will give Medicare beneficiaries more informed
    choices among competing health plans, authorizes a number of new anti-
    fraud provisions, and establishes a wide array of new preventative
    benefits.
        The bill includes proposals to revitalize the District of Columbia.
    It includes my proposals to assume financial and administrative
    responsibility for certain District pension plans and to increase the
    Federal contribution to the District's Medicaid program. The
    revitalization measures will benefit the city and the region by reducing
    the city's financial burdens and improving the delivery of city
    services. The Federal assumption of these State-like responsibilities
    will enable the District Government to focus more intensively on local
    issues, such as education and law enforcement.
        The bill also establishes a sentencing commission made up of
    District and Federal representatives charged with developing a Truth-in-
    Sentencing system. The bill also provides for the Federal Government to
    assume the costs and responsibilities of the District of Columbia's
    courts, public defender, and pretrial services systems as well as for
    felony offender incarceration, supervision, and parole. This assistance
    will strengthen the District's criminal justice system and improve
    public safety. Unfortunately, the Act fails to guarantee that the
    Justice Department's Bureau of Prisons will have the time, management
    flexibility, and resources needed to achieve a safe transition of
    responsibility for District of Columbia inmates. I look forward to
    working with the Congress to rectify these problems.
        I am also pleased that the bill responds in part to my proposal to
    narrow the gap between the treatment of insular areas and States with
    respect to Medicaid payments, and I look forward to working with the
    Congress to provide more equitable funding for children's health care in
    the insular areas.
        The Department of Justice has identified a number of Establishment
    Clause constitutional concerns with respect to section 4454 of H.R.
    2015, entitled ``Coverage of Services in Religious Nonmedical Health
    Care Institutions Under the Medicare and Medicaid Programs,'' and with
    respect to section 4001, concerning the Medicare Plus program and
    treatment of religious fraternal benefit society plans. The Department
    of

    [[Page 1054]]

    Health and Human Services will consult with the Department of Justice
    regarding how best to address these concerns.
        Section 4422 of the bill purports to require the Secretary of Health
    and Human Services to develop a legislative proposal for establishing a
    case-mix adjusted prospective payment system for payment of long-term
    care hospitals under the Medicare program. I will construe this
    provision in light of my constitutional duty and authority to recommend
    to the Congress such legislative measures as I judge necessary and
    expedient, and to supervise and guide my subordinates, including the
    review of their proposed communications to the Congress.
        The bill also broadens and extends the Federal Communications
    Commission's authority to auction the right to use the radio and
    television spectrum. This authority has been a successful means of
    streamlining the spectrum licensing process and for facilitating the
    deployment of new and innovative information technologies into the
    market place. I remain concerned, however, about the lack of a firm date
    for the termination of analog broadcasting, which made it necessary to
    find alternative and troubling savings from the universal service fund.
    I am also concerned about the waiver of media concentration rules.
        This legislation represents an historic compromise. Together with
    its companion tax cut legislation, H.R. 2015 is a monument to the
    progress that people of goodwill can make when they put aside partisan
    interests to work together for the common good and our common future. It
    reflects the values and aspirations of all Americans.
        This summer, we had an historic opportunity to strengthen America
    for the 21st century--and we have seized it. Now our Nation can move
    forward stronger, more vibrant, and more united than ever. For that, I
    am profoundly grateful.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    August 5, 1997.

    Note: H.R. 2015, approved August 5, was assigned Public Law No. 105-33.