    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [June 23, 1998]
    [Pages 1023-1024]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
    Reform Act of 1998
    June 23, 1998

        Today I am pleased to sign into law S. 1150, the ``Agricultural
    Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998.'' This bill is an
    example of the Federal Government at its best: the Congress and the
    Administration working together on a bipartisan basis, bringing together
    a broad coalition of individuals and groups to address the important
    needs of our citizens in a fiscally responsible manner. I want to thank
    Senators Lugar and Harkin and Representatives Smith and
    Stenholm, whose efforts to forge this
    compromise were tireless, as well as all the other Members of the Senate
    and the House of Representatives who voted for S. 1150. Their support
    reflects the strong consensus in this country for the reforms and
    funding contained in this bill.
        S. 1150 and last year's Balanced Budget Act go a long way toward
    fulfilling the commitment, which I made when I signed the 1996 Personal
    Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, to reverse the
    unfair treatment of legal immigrants included in that legislation, which
    had nothing to do with welfare reform. The Food Stamp provisions of S.
    1150 restore benefits to 250,000 elderly, disabled, and other needy
    legal immigrants, including 75,000 children who lost such assistance
    under the 1996 Act. The Food Stamp provisions in S. 1150 build on our
    success last year in restoring Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid
    benefits to 420,000 legal immigrants who lost such assistance under the
    1996 Act. S. 1150 also restores benefits to Hmong immigrants from Laos
    who aided our country during the Vietnam War and extends the period
    during which refugees and asylees may qualify for Food Stamps while they
    await citizenship. We will continue to work to ensure that those who
    honor our laws and contribute to our society can be free from hunger.
        Similarly, when I signed the Federal Agriculture Improvement and
    Reform Act of 1996 (1996 Farm Act) that radically changed the decades-
    old Federal programs to balance crop supply and demand, I made a
    commitment to work with the Congress to strengthen the farm safety net.
    With the bill I am signing today, our Nation's farmers know that crop
    insurance will be there for them if disaster strikes, with the program
    fully funded for the next 5 years.
        To improve farming productivity and efficiency, we must increase our
    investment in agricultural research. In the 1996 Farm Act deliberations,
    the Congress believed the agricultural research title to be so important
    that work on it was postponed so it could receive the time and
    consideration that it deserved. The research provisions in S. 1150 were
    worth waiting for, and I commend the Congress for its work.
        The Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems in S. 1150
    will channel an additional $120 million a year over the next 5 years to
    vital investments in food and agriculture genome research, food safety
    and technology, human nutrition, and agricultural biotechnology. These
    investments will lead to advances in new production systems for crops
    and livestock. This will help farmers and agricultural processors
    produce an abundant supply of safe food, with less impact on the
    environment, and meet the challenge of new, more virulent pest and
    disease outbreaks. In addition, the bill reforms the working
    arrangements between the Secretary of Agriculture and the universities
    that carry out important agricultural research. These changes will
    encourage and enable universitas to take on larger-scale challenges and
    enhance their integration of research, education, and extension
    functions while improving the accountability and management of their
    programs.

    [[Page 1024]]

        Rural communities cannot rely on agriculture alone to sustain their
    economy and quality of life. That is why, throughout my Administration,
    I have strongly supported increasing the investments in rural
    development, and pushed to find innovative solutions to unique local
    needs. We worked hard with the Congress in the 1996 Farm Act to create
    the Fund for Rural America, which provided funds for rural development
    and innovative agricultural research. I am pleased that S. 1150 provides
    $300 million for the Fund and extends it funding through FY 2003.
        While signing S. 1150, I am concerned that some in the Congress are
    already threatening to block significant portions of its funds from
    being spent in FY 1999. Appropriation actions in the House and Senate
    would deny any funds from being used for the Fund for Rural America, and
    the House bill would also block any research funding in this bill from
    going forward next year. I strongly object to such ill-advised cuts in
    these vital programs. I call on the Congress to provide the needed funds
    for these important activities.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    June 23, 1998.

    Note: S. 1150, approved June 23, was assigned Public Law No. 105-185.