    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [October 18, 1999]
    [Pages 1811-1813]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval
    Foreign Operations Appropriations Legislation
    October 18, 1999

    To the House of Representatives:
        I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 2606, the ``Foreign
    Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
    2000.''
        The central lesson we have learned in this century is that we cannot
    protect American interests at home without active engagement abroad.
    Common sense tells us, and hard experience has confirmed, that we must
    lead in the world, working with other nations to defuse crises, repel
    dangers, promote more open economic and political systems, and
    strengthen the rule of law. These have been the guiding principles of
    American foreign policy for generations. They have served the American
    people well, and greatly helped to advance the cause of peace and
    freedom around the world.
        This bill rejects all of those principles. It puts at risk America's
    50-year tradition of leadership for a safer, more prosperous and
    democratic world. It is an abandonment of hope in our Nation's capacity
    to shape that kind of world. It implies that we are too small and
    insecure to meet our share of international responsibilities, too
    shortsighted to see that doing so is in our national interest. It is
    another sign of a new isolationism that would have America bury its head
    in the sand at the height of our power and prosperity.
        In the short term, H.R. 2606 fails to address critical national
    security needs. It suggests we can afford to underfund our efforts to
    keep deadly weapons from falling into dangerous hands and walk away
    without peril from our essential work toward peace in places of
    conflict. Just as seriously, it fails to address America's long-term
    interests. It reduces assistance to nations struggling to build
    democratic societies and open markets and backs away from our commitment
    to help people trapped in poverty to stand on their feet. This, too,
    threatens our security because future threats will come from regions and
    nations where instability and misery prevail

    [[Page 1812]]

    and future opportunities will come from nations on the road to freedom
    and growth.
        By denying America a decent investment in diplomacy, this bill
    suggests we should meet threats to our security with our military might
    alone. That is a dangerous proposition. For if we underfund our
    diplomacy, we will end up overusing our military. Problems we might have
    been able to resolve peacefully will turn into crises we can only
    resolve at a cost of life and treasure. Shortchanging our arsenal of
    peace is as risky as shortchanging our arsenal of war.
        The overall funding provided by H.R. 2606 is inadequate. It is about
    half the amount available in real terms to President Reagan in 1985, and
    it is 14 percent below the level that I requested. I proposed to fund
    this higher level within the budget limits and without spending any of
    the Social Security surplus. The specific shortfalls in the current bill
    are numerous and unacceptable.
        For example, it is shocking that the Congress has failed to fulfill
    our obligations to Israel and its neighbors as they take risks and make
    difficult decisions to advance the Middle East peace process. My
    Administration, like all its predecessors, has fought hard to promote
    peace in the Middle East. This bill would provide neither the $800
    million requested this year as a supplemental appropriation nor the $500
    million requested in FY 2000 funding to support the Wye River Agreement.
    Just when Prime Minister Barak has helped give
    the peace process a jump start, this sends the worst possible message to
    Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians about America's commitment to the
    peace process. We should instead seize this opportunity to support them.
        Additional resources are required to respond to the costs of
    building peace in Kosovo and the rest of the Balkans, and I intend to
    work with the Congress to provide needed assistance. Other life-saving
    peace efforts, such as those in Sierra Leone and East Timor, are
    imperiled by the bill's inadequate funding of the voluntary peacekeeping
    account.
        My Administration has sought to protect Americans from the threat
    posed by the potential danger of weapons proliferation from Russia and
    the countries of the former Soviet Union. But the Congress has failed to
    finance the Expanded Threat Reduction Initiative (ETRI), which is
    designed to prevent weapons of mass destruction and weapons technologies
    from falling into the wrong hands and weapons scientists from offering
    their talents to countries, or even terrorists, seeking these weapons.
    The bill also curtails ETRI programs that help Russia and other New
    Independent States strengthen export controls to avoid illicit
    trafficking in sensitive materials through their borders and airports.
    The ETRI will also help facilitate withdrawal of Russian forces and
    equipment from countries such as Georgia and Moldova; it will create
    peaceful research opportunities for thousands of former Soviet weapons
    scientists. We also cannot afford to underfund programs that support
    democracy and small scale enterprises in Russia and other New
    Independent States because these are the very kinds of initiatives
    needed to complete their transformation away from communism and
    authoritarianism.
        A generation from now, no one is going to say we did too much to
    help the nations of the former Soviet Union safeguard their nuclear
    technology and expertise. If the funding cuts in this bill were to
    become law, future generations would certainly say we did too little and
    that we imperiled our future in the process.
        My Administration has also sought to promote economic progress and
    political change in developing countries, because America benefits when
    these countries become our partners in security and trade. At the
    Cologne Summit, we led a historic effort to enable the world's poorest
    and most heavily indebted countries to finance health, education, and
    opportunity programs. The Congress fails to fund the U.S. contribution.
    The bill also severely underfunds Multilateral Development Banks,
    providing the lowest level of financing since 1987, with cuts of 37
    percent from our request. This will virtually double U.S. arrears to
    these banks and seriously undermine our capacity to promote economic
    reform and growth in Latin America, Asia, and especially Africa. These
    markets are critical to American jobs and opportunities.
        Across the board, my Administration requested the funding necessary
    to assure American leadership on matters vital to the interests and
    values of our citizens. In area after area, from fighting terrorism and
    international crime to promoting nuclear stability on the Korean
    peninsula, from helping refugees and disaster victims to meeting its own
    goal of a 10,000-member Peace Corps, the Congress has failed to fund
    adequately these requests.

    [[Page 1813]]

        Several policy matters addressed in the bill are also problematic.
    One provision would hamper the Export-Import Bank's ability to be
    responsive to American exporters by requiring that the Congress be
    notified of dozens of additional kinds of transactions before the Bank
    can offer financing. Another provision would allow the Export-Import
    Bank to operate without a quorum until March 2000. I have nominated two
    individuals to the Bank's Board, and they should be confirmed.
        A third provision could be read to prevent the United States from
    engaging in diplomatic efforts to promote a cost-effective, global
    solution to climate change. A fourth provision places restrictions on
    assistance to Indonesia that could harm our ability to influence the
    objectives we share with the Congress: ensuring that Indonesia honors
    the referendum in East Timor and that security is restored there, while
    encouraging democracy and economic reform in Indonesia. Finally, this
    bill contains several sections that, if treated as mandatory, would
    encroach on the President's sole constitutional authority to conduct
    diplomatic negotiations.
        In sum, this appropriations bill undermines important American
    interests and ignores the lessons that have been at the core of our
    bipartisan foreign policy for the last half century. Like the Senate's
    recent vote to defeat the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, this bill
    reflects an inexcusable and potentially dangerous complacency about the
    opportunities and risks America faces in the world today. I therefore am
    returning this bill without my approval.
        I look forward to working with the Congress to craft an
    appropriations bill that I can support, one that maintains our
    commitment to protecting the Social Security surplus, properly
    addressing our shared goal of an America that is strong at home and
    strong abroad, respected not only for our leadership, but for the vision
    and commitment that real leadership entails. The American people deserve
    a foreign policy worthy of our great country, and I will fight to ensure
    that they continue to have one.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    October 18, 1999.