[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.