[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book II)]
[October 2, 2000]
[Page 2000]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Energy and Water Development Appropriations Legislation
October 2, 2000

    Today Congress passed a deeply flawed energy/water appropriations 
bill that threatens major environmental harm by blocking our efforts to 
modernize operations on the Missouri River. An anti-environmental rider 
attached to the bill would not only jeopardize the survival of three 
threatened and endangered species but would also establish a dangerous 
precedent aimed at barring a Federal agency from obeying one of our 
Nation's landmark environmental statutes. Accordingly, I will veto this 
bill when it reaches my desk.
    While this bill funds scores of special projects for special 
interests, it fails to provide sufficient funding for priorities in the 
national interest, including environmental restoration of the Florida 
Everglades and the California Bay-Delta and our strategy to restore 
endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest. It also fails to fund 
efforts to research and develop nonpolluting sources of energy through 
solar and renewable technologies that are vital to America's energy 
security.
    I urge Congress to resolve these issues in an environmentally sound 
manner and to quickly produce an energy/water bill I can sign. While we 
are now in the first week of the new fiscal year, Congress still has 
sent me only 2 of the 13 appropriations bills. Congress should complete 
its work without delay.