[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[October 27, 2000]
[Pages 2348-2351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Signing Fiscal Year 2001 Appropriations Legislation
October 27, 2000

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 4635, the ``Departments of 
Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001'' and the ``Energy and Water 
Development Appropriations Act, 2001.''
    This Act will fund vital housing, community development, 
environmental, disaster assistance, veterans, space, and science 
programs. Specifically, it provides funding for the Departments of 
Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing and Urban

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Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Science Foundation 
(NSF), and several other agencies.
    The Act funds a number of my Administration's priorities, including 
the Corporation for National and Community Service. National Service 
gives young people the opportunity to obtain funding for a college 
education while addressing community challenges that range from tutoring 
children and serving in community policing projects to building housing 
for the homeless. In addition, the Act will allow students in elementary 
schools, high schools, and colleges to participate in service-learning 
programs that provide substantial academic and social benefits, 
including the opportunity to learn responsible citizenship.
    I am pleased that the Act provides full funding of HUD's highest 
priority: $13 billion for the renewal of all Section 8 contracts, 
thereby assuring continuation of HUD rental subsidies for low-income 
tenants in privately owned housing. I am also pleased that the Act 
provides $453 million for 79,000 incremental housing assistance vouchers 
for low-income households. In addition, the Act adequately funds 
programs to help distressed communities. These programs include 
Community Development Block Grants, assistance to the homeless, the 
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, and rural and 
urban empowerment zones. The CDFI Fund helps to create a network of 
community development banks across the country, thereby spurring the 
flow of capital to distressed neighborhoods and their currently 
underserved, low-income residents. Likewise, the rural and urban 
empowerment zones will help to revitalize communities so that they can 
take advantage of the strength of the economy and help those left behind 
in our economic boom. Additionally, $1.1 billion is provided for 
homeless assistance grants, enabling localities to continue to shape and 
implement comprehensive, flexible, coordinated ``continuum of care'' 
approaches to solving homelessness.
    I am pleased that the Act adequately funds Fair Housing programs, 
which will enable HUD to expand significantly its activities aimed at 
reducing the level of housing discrimination nationwide.
    The Act provides $7.8 billion for the EPA, which will enable the 
agency to carry out programs to protect our environment. I am pleased 
that the bill adequately funds the EPA's efforts to enforce 
environmental laws, enabling the agency to help protect the health and 
quality of life of Americans. I am pleased that the Act minimizes the 
inclusion of anti-environmental riders. Without my Administration's 
efforts, these riders would have given special deals to special 
interests, such as preventing action at numerous sites needing cleanup 
of sediments contaminated with PCBs and other chemicals, delaying an EPA 
rule to reduce harmful emissions from diesel-fueled trucks and buses, 
and hampering commonsense initiatives to help businesses and consumers 
conserve energy and save money.
    I am disappointed, however, that the final bill includes anti-
environmental riders that my Administration opposed. I continue to 
oppose the use of the budget process to adopt these kinds of proposals 
without the benefit of full and open public debate through the regular 
legislative process. I urge Congress to refrain from sending me any 
additional anti-environmental riders on remaining bills. Although I am 
signing this legislation into law with these riders attached, I am 
directing the agencies to consider ways to implement them that will have 
the least harmful effect on the environment.
    I am pleased that the Act sustains U.S. leadership across the 
scientific frontiers. This Act maintains the Nation's investment in 
discovery through innovation, which has fueled unprecedented economic 
growth for the past decade. The Act contains a $529 million increase for 
the National Science Foundation (NSF)--the largest increase ever--for a 
total investment of $4.4 billion that will boost university-based 
research and ensure balanced support for all science and engineering 
disciplines. Increased investments will spur new discoveries in the 
fields of information technology, nanotechnology, biocomplexity, and 
other areas of fundamental science and engineering. The Act also 
adequately funds the new Scholarship for Service program at NSF, a 
component of the Federal Cyber Services, which will provide scholarships 
to students pursuing academic careers in Information Assurance. One of 
the five education and training initiatives in the National Plan for 
Information Systems Protection, this program supports the 
Administration's efforts to

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protect the Nation's critical infrastructures by increasing the number 
of skilled technologists working for the Federal Government. In exchange 
for up to 2 years of scholarship support, students will work for the 
Federal Government for an amount of time at least equal to the 
scholarship period.
    This Act will also help to expand our investments in space 
exploration by including a $684 million increase, to $14.3 billion, for 
NASA. The Act fully funds the Space Launch Initiative that will improve 
the economics of space transportation dramatically. The additional 
resources will help the agency meet its human space flight needs more 
safely and at lower cost through the development of a new generation of 
space launch vehicles and enable NASA to establish a sustained presence 
at key research sites in our solar system.
    I am pleased that this Act adequately funds FEMA to help cope with 
unforeseen disasters. The $1.3 billion in contingent emergency funds, 
along with the $297 million appropriated, ensures that the country is 
well-prepared to deal with unforeseen natural disasters.
    I am also pleased that the Act provides my requested $22.4 billion 
for veterans' medical care, benefits, and the National Cemetery System. 
This $1.5 billion increase over last year represents the largest 
increase ever requested by an Administration. It will allow us to treat 
more veterans in the medical care system with high-quality and timely 
care, improve the delivery of veterans' disability and education 
benefits, and ensure that our Nation's veterans are honored in 
cemeteries that are maintained as National Shrines. The bill also takes 
the long-overdue steps of improving benefits for World War II Filipino 
veterans with service-connected disabilities who live in the United 
States, by providing the same disability, burial, health care, and long-
term care benefits that other veterans receive.
    I am also pleased today to be able to sign into law the Energy and 
Water Development Appropriations Act, 2001, now that the Congress has 
dropped an unacceptable rider that would have prevented the Army Corps 
of Engineers from revising its operating manual for the Missouri River, 
which is 40 years old and needs to be updated. This action will enable 
the Army Corps to move forward to achieve a reasonable balance among the 
competing interests of the many people who seek to use this great 
American river, while addressing the needs of the fish and wildlife 
species that depend upon it. To ensure a thorough discussion and review 
of the issues raised concerning revisions to the manual, the Secretary 
of the Army and the Secretary of the Interior will consult fully with 
other Federal agencies, with State and local officials, and with 
interested stakeholders on the specific measures that the Army Corps may 
need to undertake during FY 2001. As part of this effort, the Army Corps 
will work with the parties to explore alternatives to, and modifications 
of, any proposed Federal actions on the lower Missouri River that may 
affect downstream landowners or barge traffic. Furthermore, the Army 
Corps will not make changes to its river operations under this 
legislation that will have significant adverse impacts on the downstream 
landowners or barge traffic.
    I am disappointed that the final bill does not include my request 
for the CALFED Bay-Delta program or sufficient funds to restore 
endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and includes no funds for 
new construction projects for the Florida Everglades and the Challenge 
21 and recreation modernization programs, or for construction of the 
emergency flood control outlet at Devils Lake, North Dakota. These 
omissions are especially striking in light of the bill's inclusion of 
nearly 240 unrequested Corps of Engineers projects totaling over $300 
million.
    I want to acknowledge the efforts the Congress has made in 
appropriating $20 million for the establishment of the Delta Regional 
Authority, a Federal-State partnership focused on promoting economic 
growth in the Mississippi Delta region.
    Finally, I am pleased that the final bill provides $17.8 billion for 
the Department of Energy (DOE). This funding supports environmental 
restoration projects at DOE sites throughout the country and cutting-
edge scientific research such as the Spallation Neutron Source. It also 
includes essential funds for maintaining the safety and reliability of 
our nuclear weapons stockpile. Although the bill does not include my 
full request for the Climate Change Technology Initiative, it does 
provide almost $70 million more than the FY 2000 enacted level. Included 
in this Initiative is $375 million for solar and renewable energy, more 
than a 20 percent increase over the FY 2000 level for this program. The 
bill also provides $203 million in additional funding to address the 
damage caused

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by the Cerro Grande fire. I am concerned, however, that the bill 
contains limits on the term of office for the first person appointed to 
the position of Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the Department 
of Energy and would restrict the President's ability to remove that 
official to cases of ``inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance of 
office.'' Particularly in light of the Under Secretary's significant 
executive authority and responsibility in nuclear security, I understand 
the phrase ``neglect of duty'' to include, among other things, a failure 
to comply with the lawful directives or policies of the President.
    I am proud that my Administration and the Congress were able to work 
together successfully on two bills to resolve our respective differences 
and produce an Act that effectively addresses critical needs of the 
American people.

                                                      William J. Clinton

 The White House,

 October 27, 2000.

  Note:  H.R. 4635, approved October 27, was assigned Public Law No. 
106-377. This statement was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 28. An original was not available for verification 
of the content of this statement.