[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.