    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [October 22, 1999]
    [Pages 1855-1857]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
    Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000
    October 22, 1999

        Today I have signed into law H.R. 1906, the ``Agriculture, Rural
    Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
    Appropriations Act, 2000.''
        The Act provides $14.1 billion in discretionary budget authority for
    programs of the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug
    Administration, including the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for
    Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); food safety programs; and various
    programs to protect and support rural communities.
        The Act also provides $8.6 billion in emergency funds to assist our
    Nation's farmers and ranchers who are suffering through the second year
    in a row of low commodity prices and, for many, crop and livestock
    losses from severe drought and flooding. My Administration will work
    hard to ensure that these funds are distributed to farm families as soon
    as possible; however, because the Congress wrote some of the programs in
    a complex manner, farmers and ranchers need to understand that, for my
    Administration to implement them fairly, some of the assistance will
    take some time to provide. This is the second year in a row that
    substantial additional Federal assistance has been needed, on top of our
    regular farm programs, due to deficiencies in the 1996 Farm Bill--
    further evidence that the 1996 Act simply does not provide an adequate
    farm safety net.
        I continue to be concerned that the income assistance in the Act I
    have signed today is

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    provided through supplemental Farm Bill income support payments, and
    therefore is not targeted to producers most in need. These payments are
    made based on past production, which may have no relation to the crops
    grown or the market situation facing producers this year, and in some
    cases payments are made to individuals who are no longer farming. There
    is now, however, an urgent need for farm assistance, and so I have
    approved H.R. 1906. But I once again call on the Congress to work with
    my Administration to fix the 1996 Farm Bill permanently so American
    producers have the assurance of an adequate farm income safety net,
    while they continue their work to feed us all.
        While the Act's funding for crop and livestock losses from natural
    disasters has been increased over the amount in the Senate bill, it
    still will not adequately meet the devastating farm losses in many parts
    of the country. In addition, H.R. 1906 cuts farm loans by 25 percent
    from last year, which is simply untenable as we head into a crop year
    when farmers and lenders alike are saying that they will need even more
    Federal financing help than last year. The Act also does not include
    emergency conservation funds to help farmers and rural communities
    affected by Hurricane Floyd to clear their fields and streams of debris
    and restore their small waterways. My Administration will work in the
    remaining days of this session of Congress to secure funding for these
    and other urgent, unmet needs. In addition, I have asked the Vice
    President to work with the Department of
    Agriculture to implement, within existing authorities, measures to
    improve the operation of various conservation programs.
        The additional crop insurance subsidies provided in the Act will
    help producers afford higher coverage next year, but I call on the
    Congress to pass long-term crop insurance reform before adjourning this
    year, to improve this important component of the farm safety net.
        The Congress has not provided the full amount of my requested
    increase for the WIC program, thereby failing to ensure that we can
    achieve the goal of full participation of 7.5 million women, infants,
    and children in this vital program. I also remain opposed to the
    provision that modifies the nonimmigrant farm worker program, known as
    the H-2A program, because it virtually eliminates the credibility of the
    recruitment process that protects legal U.S. farm workers. The Act also
    makes significant cuts in a number of high-priority conservation
    programs, including the Wetlands Reserve and Environmental Quality
    Incentives Programs, and fails to fully fund implementation of the Clean
    Water Action Plan and important bioenergy and bioproducts research and
    development. In addition, the Act fails to fund the Farmland Protection
    Program, a valuable conservation program that has received bipartisan
    support in the past and would have prevented the conversion of farmland
    and the loss of a way of life in rural communities.
        I am concerned that the Act frustrates initiatives to improve
    customer service in USDA county offices, for example by blocking the
    Secretary of Agriculture's new Support Services Bureau designed to
    modernize administrative functions, at a time when farmers and rural
    residents truly need upgraded assistance. Since the first days of my
    Administration, the Vice President and I have made improved customer
    service and greater administrative efficiency a top priority, which we
    will continue to pursue at the USDA.
        I am concerned that, with the exception of the school breakfast
    pilot projects, H.R. 1906 prohibits the use of Food and Nutrition
    Service funds for research and evaluation of nutrition programs. The
    research needs of these important programs should continue to be
    addressed in the context of the programs' administration. I am asking
    the Secretary of Agriculture to look into this matter and to work with
    the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on the most
    effective approach to address my concerns.
        I am pleased that the Act provides significant rural development
    loans and grants to help our rural communities diversify economically
    and improve their quality of life. The Act also includes a significant
    portion of the increase I requested for my Food Safety Initiative to
    reduce food-borne illnesses. In addition, the Act establishes mandatory
    livestock price reporting for certain meat processors, which will expand
    information to livestock producers and particularly will help smaller
    producers improve their ability to get a fair price in the marketplace.
    However, I am concerned with the Act's preemption of State price
    reporting requirements, which is compounded by the lack of funding

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    in the Act to implement the new Federal requirements. My Administration
    will seek additional funding for these purposes.
        There are a number of provisions in the Act that may raise
    Constitutional issues. These provisions will be treated in a manner that
    is consistent with the Constitution.
        Section 722 of the Act specifies that funds may not be used
                to provide to any non-Department of Agriculture employee
                questions or responses to questions resulting from the
                appropriations hearing process. To the extent that this
                provision would interfere with my duty to ``take Care that
                the Laws be faithfully executed,'' or impede my ability to
                act as the chief executive, it would violate the
                constitution, and I will treat it as advisory.
        Section 735 of the Act purports to constrain my ability to
                make a particular type of budget recommendation to the
                Congress. This provision would interfere with my
                constitutional duty under the Recommendation Clause, and I
                will treat it as advisory.
        Finally, there are provisions in the Act that purport to
                condition my authority or that of certain officers to use
                funds appropriated by the Act on the approval of
                congressional committees. My Administration will interpret
                such provisions to require notification only, since any
                other interpretation would contradict the Supreme Court
                ruling in INS v. Chadha.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    October 22, 1999.

    Note: H.R. 1906, approved October 22, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
    78.