    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 29, 1999]
    [Pages 2156-2163]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing Consolidated Appropriations Legislation for Fiscal
    Year 2000
    November 29, 1999

        I have signed into law H.R. 3194, the Consolidated Appropriations
    Act for FY 2000. I am pleased that my Administration and the Congress
    were able to reach agreement on the first budget of the 21st Century--
    producing a hard-won victory for the American people.
        This legislation makes progress on several important fronts. It puts
    education first, honoring our commitment to hire 100,000 qualified
    teachers to lower class size in the early grades and doubling the funds
    for after-school and summer school programs.
        It makes America a safer place. The bill provides an acceptable
    funding level for my 21st Century Policing Initiative, which builds on
    the success of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.
    To date, the COPS program has funded more than 100,000 additional police
    officers for our streets. This bill funds the first increment of the
    21st Century Policing initiative, which will place an additional 30,000
    to 50,000 police officers on the street over the next 5 years, while
    expanding the concept of community policing to include community
    prosecution and law enforcement technology assistance. I appreciate the
    Congress' efforts to forge a bipartisan commitment to the program, which
    will build upon our successful efforts to reduce crime in our
    communities.
        The bill strengthens our effort to preserve natural areas and
    protect our environment by its support of my Lands Legacy Initiative. I
    am very pleased that the bill does not include most of the environmental
    riders that would have put special interests above the national
    interest.
        This budget agreement also strengthens America's leadership role in
    the world by paying our dues and arrears to the U.N.; by meeting our
    commitments to the Middle East peace process; by making critical
    investments in debt relief for the poorest countries, by enhancing the
    security of our overseas personnel; by providing for new, critical
    peacekeeping missions; and by funding efforts to safeguard nuclear
    weapons in Russia.

    Labor/Health and Human Services/Education Bill

        Specifically, I am pleased that the legislation provides $1.3
    billion for the second installment of my plan to help reduce class size
    in the early grades. The Republican proposal did not guarantee funding
    for the teachers hired last year and would have instead allowed Class
    Size dollars to be used for virtually any activity, including vouchers.
    The final budget agreement supports the over 29,000 teachers hired last
    year plus an additional 2,500 teachers.
        The bill appropriately includes several other high priority
    education initiatives. One million students will continue to be served
    by the Reading Excellence Initiative and 375,000 more students than last
    year will have access to 21st Century Community Learning Centers. By
    providing $145 million for Public Charter Schools,

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    approximately 650 more schools than last year will receive startup
    funding.
        I commend the Congress for providing increases to several programs
    in my Hispanic Education Agenda that address the disproportionately low
    educational achievement and high dropout rates of Latino and limited
    English proficient students. The Hispanic Education Agenda includes
    programs such as Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs),
    Adult Education, Bilingual Education, the High School Equivalency and
    College Assistance Migrant Programs (HEP/CAMP), Hispanic-serving
    Institutions, and support services to promote the graduation of low-
    income college students (TRIO).
        I am disappointed, however, that this legislation does not provide
    any of the funding that I specifically requested for Troops to Teachers.
    This lack of funding jeopardizes this program, which would have provided
    3,000 new teachers in high-need subject areas and school districts.
        I am pleased that the bill funds most of my major proposals for job
    training, worker protection programs, and grants for working with
    developing countries to establish core labor standards. For example,
    $1.6 billion is included for dislocated worker assistance, enabling the
    program to provide training and re-employment services to 858,500
    dislocated workers. Since 1993, my Administration has succeeded in
    tripling funding for, and participation in, programs that help
    dislocated workers return to work.
        As authorized in the bipartisan Workforce Investment Act of 1998,
    the Congress has provided $140 million to expand services to job seekers
    at One-Stop centers.
        I am pleased that the bill provides the funds I requested for major
    youth job training programs. Specifically, the bill includes the $250
    million I requested for Youth Opportunity Grants to finance the second
    year of the 5-year competitive grants that provide education, training,
    and support services to 58,000 youth in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise
    Communities. In addition, the bill provides the $1 billion for Youth
    Activities Formula Grants to provide training and summer employment
    opportunities to an estimated 577,700 youth. Also it includes $55
    million for the final year of Federal funding for the School-to-Work
    initiative. The bill provides $1.4 billion for the Job Corps program,
    including financing for enhanced follow-up services for graduates,
    completion of a four-center expansion initiated in FY 1998, and
    construction of Head Start child care facilities on five Job Corps
    campuses.
        The bill provides $83 million, or 8 percent above the FY 1999
    enacted level, for labor law enforcement agencies, funding key
    initiatives to ensure workplace safety, address domestic child labor
    abuses, encourage equal pay, assist in complying with pension law, and
    promote family leave.
        I am especially pleased that this legislation includes critically
    needed changes to the Welfare-to-Work program's eligibility
    requirements. We have worked closely with the Congress to ensure these
    changes were enacted this year. By simplifying eligibility, this
    legislation will allow the Welfare-to-Work program, within existing
    resources, to serve more effectively long-term welfare recipients and
    noncustodial parents of low-income children. The bill also establishes
    an alternative penalty that is tough, but fair, for States that have not
    implemented certain child support enforcement requirements.
        This legislation fully funds my request for Head Start, adding up to
    44,000 new slots for low-income children and continuing on the path to
    serve one million children by FY 2002.
        Unfortunately, the bill reduces the Social Services Block Grant by
    $134 million below the FY 1999 level, undermining programs serving our
    most vulnerable families.
        The bill includes historic investments in biomedical research,
    mental health, pediatric training, and a number of other critically
    important public health initiatives. It also makes an essential
    downpayment on my Safety Net proposal, which is designed to provide
    financial and technical support to those providing a disproportionate
    amount of care to the uninsured. Lastly, it provides payment
    restorations to hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers serving
    the 39 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries.
        It also provides a $34.5 billion investment in health programs, 11.7
    percent above the FY 1999 enacted level, including an historic increase
    of $2.3 billion for the National Institutes of Health. These new
    initiatives will strengthen the public health infrastructure, provide
    critical prevention and treatment services to individuals with mental
    illness, and invest in pediatric training programs. Specifically, the
    bill provides $40 million to support graduate medical education at
    freestanding children's hospitals, which play an essential role in the
    education of the Nation's

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    pediatricians; $67 million above the FY 1999 funding level for the
    Mental Health Block Grant, a 23 percent increase over FY 1999 and the
    largest increase ever; $30 million for health education, prevention, and
    treatment services to address health disparities among minority
    populations; and an additional $62 million over FY 1999 funding levels
    to provide critical immunizations to children nationwide. The $239
    million for the Title X Family Planning program will enable family
    planning clinics to extend comprehensive reproductive health care
    services to an additional 500,000 clients who are neither Medicaid-
    eligible nor insured. In addition, the $25 million for the Health Care
    for the Uninsured Initiative will support the development of integrated
    systems of care and address service gaps within these systems.
        It provides $25 million, a full down payment on our proposed $1
    billion investment to develop integrated systems of care for the
    uninsured. It also dedicates an additional $15 million to identify the
    best ways to deliver health care coverage to this population. I am
    pleased that the bill includes a $73 million increase in funding for HIV
    prevention activities to help stop the spread of this disease; an
    increase of $183 million in the Ryan White CARE Act, which helps provide
    primary care and support for those living with HIV/AIDS; and an
    estimated $300 million in additional funds for AIDS-related research at
    the NIH. The bill also includes $80 million in funding to the Minority
    AIDS Initiative, which utilizes existing programs to reach African-
    Americans, Latinos, and other racial and ethnic minorities that are
    disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, as well as an additional $100
    million to fight AIDS internationally. Finally, the Administration
    helped protect local authority over HIV prevention activities,
    successfully removing language from the District of Columbia
    appropriations bill that would have tied the hands of community health
    agencies in their ability to use needle exchange programs as part of
    their overall HIV prevention strategy.
        The bill includes $264 million to expand HHS' bioterrorism
    initiative. It provides $52 million for the Centers for Disease Control
    and Prevention's (CDC) national pharmaceutical stock pile and $123
    million for CDC to expand national, State, and local epidemiologic,
    laboratory, and surveillance planning capacity, as well as to conduct a
    vaccine study. The bill also fully funds my request to expand the number
    of Metropolitan Medical Response Systems that can respond to the health
    and medical consequences of a chemical, biological, or nuclear incident,
    and to enhance smallpox and anthrax vaccine research and development. I
    am particularly pleased that the bill funds the creation of a new
    national electronic disease surveillance system, which will also help
    detect outbreaks and strengthen the public health delivery system.
        I commend the Congress for providing funding for my Nursing Home
    Initiative, including resources for more rigorous inspections of nursing
    facilities and improved Federal oversight of nursing home quality, and
    for funding the 31-percent increase in Home-Delivered Meals that I
    requested.
        Finally, the bill also includes the Balanced Budget Refinement Act
    of 1999, which invests $16 billion over 5 years to address the flawed
    policy and excessive payment reductions resulting from the Balanced
    Budget Act of 1997. It lifts caps on therapy services, increases
    payments for very sick nursing home patients, restores teaching hospital
    funding, and eases the transition to the new prospective payment system
    for hospital outpatients. It also includes provisions to limit cost-
    sharing requirements for Medicare beneficiaries and extends coverage of
    important immunosuppressive drugs. Unfortunately, it includes provisions
    that are not justifiable, such as a $4 billion payment increase to
    managed care plans that are already overpaid according to most experts.
    This is troubling because any excess payments from the Medicare trust
    fund put the program at greater risk.

    Commerce/Justice/State Bill

        Regrettably, the bill does not contain a needed hate crimes
    provision that was included in the Senate version of the bill. I urge
    the Congress to pass legislation in a timely manner that would
    strengthen the Federal Government's ability to combat hate crimes by
    relaxing jurisdictional obstacles and by giving Federal prosecutors the
    ability to prosecute hate crimes that are based on sexual orientation,
    gender, or disability, along with those based on race, color, religion,
    and national origin.
        I am pleased that we were able to secure additional funds for the
    Legal Services Corporation. Adequate funding for legal services is
    essential to ensuring that all citizens have access to the Nation's
    justice system. Similarly, through

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    negotiations with the Congress, the funding level for the Equal
    Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was increased above the FY 1999
    enacted level. The additional funds will assist the EEOC in its
    continued progress in reducing the backlog of employment discrimination
    cases.
        The bill funds my requested $13 million increase for the Department
    of Justice's Civil Rights Division. These funds will support law
    enforcement actions related to hate crimes, the Americans with
    Disabilities Act, and fair housing and lending.
        The legislation contains adequate funding for the decennial census,
    and includes a compromise on language requiring the Census Bureau to
    allocate funds among eight functions or frameworks. With the decennial
    census approaching, I am confident that this language will not inhibit
    the Census Bureau's ability to actually conduct the census.
        The United States has recently entered into the U.S.-Canada Pacific
    Salmon Agreement. The Agreement ends years of contention between the
    U.S. and Canada regarding expired fishing harvest restrictions and
    provides for improved fisheries management. I am pleased that
    legislative riders that would have hindered implementation of this
    important Agreement have been modified or removed from the bill. In
    addition, additional funds have been provided for implementation of the
    Agreement and for other salmon recovery efforts. These funds will allow
    us to work cooperatively with our partners--Canada, a number of western
    States, and Treaty Tribes--to implement the Agreement and to restore
    Pacific coastal salmon runs.
        The bill does not provide additional requested funding to the
    Department of Justice for tobacco litigation, but does not preclude the
    expenditure of funds for this purpose. We will identify existing
    resources to pursue this important case. Smoking-related health expenses
    cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year through Medicare, veterans'
    and military health, and other Federal health programs. The $20 million
    I requested is needed to represent the interests of the tax-payers, who
    should not have to bear the responsibility for these staggering costs.
        Critical funds were added to help our Nation's 24 million small
    businesses. The bill now includes $16.5 million for my New Markets
    Initiative to invest in targeted rural and urban areas. Also, funding
    levels were increased for the Small Business Administration's (SBA)
    operating expenses and disaster loan program. These funds will enable
    the SBA to provide critical services, including a fast and effective
    response to Hurricane Floyd.
        I regret that a provision is included that would amend the recently
    enacted Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000, that
    could limit the access of Federal government employees to contraceptive
    coverage.

    Foreign Operations Bill and Other International Affairs Appropriations
    and Authorizations

        I am pleased that we were able to reach bipartisan agreement with
    the Congress on a level of funding for international affairs programs
    that supports our continued engagement on key global issues. Most
    notably, we were able to agree to meet our obligations to the United
    Nations, which will allow us to keep our vote in the General Assembly.
    We also obtained additional funding for international peacekeeping
    efforts seeking to redress the instability and suffering caused by
    conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, and Africa.
        The bill includes my full request for the Wye River Agreement, which
    will support our partners in the Middle East as they accelerate their
    historic attempt to secure a permanent peace. We gained bilateral
    funding for the new Cologne debt reduction initiative, as well as
    agreement from the Congress to allow the International Monetary Fund to
    use existing resources to finance its portion of the initiative,
    allowing us to begin to lessen the crushing debt burden that many of the
    world's poorest nations face as they try to implement difficult economic
    and democratic reforms.
        Unfortunately, the bill also includes a provision on international
    family planning that I have strongly opposed throughout my
    Administration. This is a one-time provision that imposes additional
    restrictions on international family planning groups. However, I
    insisted that the Congress allow for a Presidential waiver provision,
    which I have exercised today.
        I have instructed USAID to implement the new restrictions on family
    planning money in such a way as to minimize to the extent possible the
    impact on international family planning efforts and to respect the
    rights of citizens to speak freely on issues of importance in their
    countries, such as the rights of women to make

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    their own reproductive decisions. As I have stated before, I do not
    believe it is appropriate to limit foreign NGOs' use of their own money,
    or their ability to participate in the democratic process in their own
    countries. Thus, I will oppose inclusion of this restriction in any
    future appropriations bill.
        The bill takes a step in the right direction in terms of paying our
    dues and our debts to the United Nations and other international
    organizations. The bill includes most of the funds requested for U.N.
    arrears, as well as the United Nations Reform Act, which authorizes
    payment of these arrears contingent upon certain U.N. reforms. My
    Administration is committed to making sure that all of our debts are
    paid, and, while doing so, pressing for reforms that will make the U.N.
    more efficient and effective.
        International peacekeeping activities in this bill are funded at a
    level of $500 million, $300 million above the level in the bill that I
    vetoed. This additional funding is crucial and will support the United
    States' response to emergent peacekeeping requirements in Kosovo, Asia,
    and Africa. In each of these places, the United States has worked with
    allies and friends to end conflicts that have claimed countless innocent
    lives and thrown whole regions into turmoil. This funding will help
    America do its part to make and keep the peace in troubled regions.
        On a number of other critical foreign policy priorities, we were
    able to achieve bipartisan agreements that will directly affect the
    lives of Americans and others alike. We fully funded a new initiative
    that will significantly expand our efforts to stem the spread of HIV/
    AIDS in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. We significantly
    increased funding for programs aimed at reducing the threat of weapons
    of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere. We agreed
    to a significant package of assistance to Kosovo and Southeastern Europe
    that will help to solidify the fragile peace that we and our NATO allies
    have secured. We initiated new programs that will help to provide
    alternatives to the child labor practices that are still too prevalent
    in much of the world. I am particularly pleased the bill provides my
    full request for embassy security to protect the men and women who serve
    our country abroad.
        There are still important commitments and goals that were not
    adequately addressed in this bill. I am disappointed that we did not
    achieve all of the funding that we need to fully implement the
    multilateral portion of the Cologne debt initiative, and that we were
    not able to meet our commitments to provide multilateral environmental
    assistance through the Global Environment Facility. However, in total,
    this bill demonstrates that the bipartisan consensus that America must
    remain engaged in global affairs, which has guided our interaction with
    the rest of the world since the end of the Second World War, is still
    very much alive and well, and I am hopeful that it will continue to
    guide our foreign policy into the 21st Century.
        I continue to believe that various provisions prohibiting
    implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in this bill are unnecessary, as my
    Administration has no intent of implementing the Protocol prior to
    ratification. Furthermore, I will consider activities that meet our
    responsibilities under the ratified U.N. Framework Convention on Climate
    Change to be consistent with this provision. Finally, to the extent
    these provisions could be read to prevent the United States from
    negotiating with foreign governments about climate change, it would be
    inconsistent with my constitutional authority. Accordingly, I will
    construe this provision as not detracting from my authority to engage in
    the many activities, both formal and informal, that constitute
    negotiations relating to climate change.
        This legislation includes a number of provisions in the various Acts
    incorporated in it regarding the conduct of foreign affairs that raise
    serious constitutional concerns. These provisions would direct or burden
    my negotiations with foreign governments and international
    organizations, as well as intrude on my ability to maintain the
    confidentiality of sensitive diplomatic negotiations. Similarly, some
    provisions would constrain my Commander in Chief authority and the
    exercise of my exclusive authority to receive ambassadors and to conduct
    diplomacy. Other provisions raise concerns under the Appointments and
    Recommendation Clauses. My Administration's objections to most of these
    and other provisions have been made clear in previous statements of
    Administration policy and other communications to the Congress. Wherever
    possible, I will construe these provisions to be consistent with my
    constitutional prerogatives and responsibilities and where such a
    construction is not possible, I will treat them as not interfering with
    those prerogatives and responsibilities.

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    District of Columbia Bill

        With respect to the District of Columbia bill, I am pleased that the
    majority and minority in the Congress were able to come together to pass
    a version that I can sign. While I continue to object to remaining
    riders that violate the principles of home rule, some of the highly
    objectionable provisions that would have intruded upon local citizens'
    right to make decisions about local matters have been modified from
    previous versions of the bill. My Administration will continue to
    strenuously urge the Congress to keep such riders out of the FY 2001
    D.C. Appropriations Bill.
        I commend the Congress for providing the Federal funds I requested
    for the District of Columbia. The bill includes essential funding for
    District Courts and Corrections and the D.C. Offender Supervision Agency
    and provides requested funds for a new tuition assistance program for
    District of Columbia residents. The bill also includes funding to
    promote the adoption of children in the District's foster care system,
    to support the Children's National Medical Center, to assist the
    Metropolitan Police Department in eliminating open-air drug trafficking
    in the District, and for drug testing and treatment, among other
    programs.

    Interior and Related Agencies Bill

        With respect to the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies
    bill, I commend the Congress for agreeing on an acceptable version--one
    that does not include most of the highly objectionable provisions that
    would harm the environment and benefit special interest groups by
    allowing the inappropriate use of national forests and other public
    lands and resources.
        In particular, we have reached a fair compromise on millsite claims
    under the 1872 Mining Law. Hardrock mining operations under existing
    approved plans of operations, as well as applications for new mining
    plans filed by the date of the Interior Solicitor's Opinion of November
    7, 1997, would go forward without the Department of the Interior
    applying the five-acre-per-mining-claim millsite limitation. The
    Department of the Interior would impose this limitation on plans for new
    hardrock mining operations filed after November 7, 1997; it would also
    impose the limitation on amended plans of operations filed after
    November 7, 1997, that add millsite acreage.
        Our agreement also will allow final rules to take effect in the near
    future that will provide a fair return to the taxpayers for the
    development of Federal oil resources; and will ensure more effective
    environmental protection in hardrock mining on Federal lands.
        This bill provides two-thirds of the funds I requested for my Lands
    Legacy initiative and represents a significant improvement over prior-
    year funding, allowing us to protect such irreplaceable national
    treasures as the Baca Ranch in New Mexico, the Everglades in Florida,
    wilderness lands in the California Desert, and Civil War battlefield
    sites that are threatened by urban sprawl. There is also adequate
    support given to the Clean Water Action Plan. I am especially pleased
    with the additional funding for the Forest Service and for abandoned
    mine lands reclamation, which would make significant progress in
    addressing acid mine drainage and watershed problems in the Appalachian
    region. I look forward to working with the Congress next year to provide
    full and permanent funding for my Lands Legacy proposal, including full
    Federal and State funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
        My Administration has also been able to secure additional funding
    for energy conservation, the single largest component of my Climate
    Change Technology Initiative, which will help us to form the
    partnerships with industry that are vital to the development of a new
    generation of ultra-efficient cars, more efficient and affordable
    housing, and more efficient, less-polluting industrial processes. This
    progress will help us to address the threat of global warming
    economically and practically.
        I commend the Congress for the historic $157.2 million increase for
    Indian health, which is only slightly below the $172 million increase
    the Administration sought for the Indian Health Service. This funding
    increase represents a continuing demonstration of the Federal commitment
    to improve the health status of Native Americans and Alaska natives. I
    also commend the Congress for the removal of an objectionable rider that
    would have infringed on tribal sovereignty, and for providing specific
    funding to accommodate new contracts with tribes.
        Although I am disappointed that the Congress has failed to increase
    funding for the National Endowment for the Arts for the eighth straight

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    year, I am pleased with the generally positive debate and the first
    increase in 4 years in funding for the National Endowment for the
    Humanities.
        The bill also contains language on the American Heritage Rivers
    initiative. I believe that the congressional language is unnecessary and
    unfortunate. I will direct the Departments funded by this bill, within
    existing laws and authorities, to continue to support and undertake
    community-oriented services or environmental projects on rivers I have
    recognized as part of the initiative.
        By increasing critical funding for land conservation efforts and
    removing harmful environmental provisions, the legislation represents a
    step forward in efforts to protect the environment and manage Federal
    lands and resources responsibly.

    Disaster Assistance

        I am pleased that the bill includes over $500 million in additional
    funds for our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities to help
    them recover from natural disasters, particularly this year's
    hurricanes. These funds will help farmers clear their streams and fields
    for next year's crop, just as the $2.5 billion in loans provided in the
    bill will help them secure the financing they need for planting. Vitally
    needed funds are included to help low-income rural families and farm
    laborers repair and replace housing damaged by Hurricane Floyd, and low-
    interest loans will be available to repair and replace farm structures
    and equipment lost in the storm. In addition, $186 million is included
    for additional crop loss payments across the country, including areas in
    the East that suffered through one of the worst droughts in memory. The
    bill also provides funding to implement the mandatory livestock price
    reporting authority included in the Agriculture Appropriations Act,
    which will make the livestock market more transparent and particularly
    help small producers get a fair price for their livestock in the market.

    Authorization Bills/Other Issues

        The bill also includes a provision that would delay the Department
    of Health and Human Services's Organ Procurement and Transplantation
    Network Final Rule for a minimum of 42 days from the bill's effective
    date. This Final Rule is in response to my Administration's belief that
    the current organ allocation policies by the Organ Procurement and
    Transplantation Network are inequitable because patients with similar
    severities of illness are treated differently, depending on where they
    may live or at which transplant center they may be listed.
        The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act--part of the Intellectual
    Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999--will increase
    the ability of satellite companies to compete against cable companies,
    and will result in more customer choice, lower prices, and increased
    access to local news and information. This Act puts the TV remote
    control back into consumers' hands and competition at their fingertips.
    In addition, the patent reform legislation that the Administration has
    fought for will help meet the needs of America's inventors and
    entrepreneurs. It strengthens protection in a number of ways: it extends
    the term of a patent when there is an administrative delay in the patent
    process; it requires the timely domestic publication of patent
    applications that are also filed abroad; and it reinvents the Patent and
    Trademark Office as a performance-based organization to better serve
    America's entrepreneurs and innovators.
        Unfortunately, the Congress did not fund my additional request to
    protect the Nation's critical computer and information based
    infrastructures from a growing threat of cyber attack from hostile
    nations, terrorists, or criminals.
        In order that $68 million in interest accrued by the Abandoned Mine
    Land Fund (to be transferred to the United Mine Workers of America
    Combined Benefits Fund--designated by the Congress as an emergency
    requirement) not be scored against the discretionary spending caps, I
    hereby designate that amount as an emergency requirement pursuant to
    section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
    Control Act of 1985, as amended. I will shortly be designating other
    funds in this legislation as emergency requirements.
        Finally, there are several provisions in the bill that purport to
    require congressional approval before Executive Branch execution of
    aspects of the bill. I will interpret such provisions to require
    notification only, since any other interpretation would contradict the
    Supreme Court ruling in INS vs. Chadha.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House

    November 29, 1999.

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    Note: H.R. 3194, approved November 29, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
    113. This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    November 30.