[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[December 21, 2000]
[Pages 2766-2769]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Signing the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the 
Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001
December 21, 2000

    Today I am signing into law H.R. 4942, the Departments of Commerce, 
Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
2001. I commend the Congress for approving a bill that provides critical 
funding for enforcing our Nation's laws, protecting our precious natural 
resources, promoting international peace, and supporting our diplomatic 
operations.
    Many portions of the Act are considerably improved compared to the 
previous House and Senate versions. I appreciate and commend the 
Congress for the many changes that have been

[[Page 2767]]

made, including providing additional funding to finance the Lands Legacy 
program; to improve the health of our Nation's ocean fisheries; to help 
close the digital divide between our more and less affluent citizens; to 
improve trade compliance; to prosecute local firearms violations; to 
toughen our Nation's stance against cybercrime and terrorism; to provide 
additional law enforcement assistance to Native Americans; to fund 
peacekeeping requirements; and to improve worldwide embassy security.
    I applaud the Congress for providing over $430 million for the 
Department of Commerce's components of the Lands Legacy Initiative. This 
funding will help protect marine sanctuaries; support the new 
Northwestern Hawaiian Coral Reef Reserve and restore other coral reefs; 
expand estuarine research reserves; and promote recovery of Pacific 
coastal salmon runs through grants to western States and Tribes. The Act 
fully funds activities for the Pacific Salmon Agreement with Canada at 
$60 million and for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's (NOAA) work on Columbia River Basin salmon populations. 
Acceptable funding is also provided for a new climate observation 
initiative, a new education program with Minority Serving Institutions, 
and two smaller programs: Global Observations to Benefit the Environment 
and the Global Disaster Information Network.
    The Act takes an important step toward closing the digital divide by 
providing the requested tripling of funding for the Technology 
Opportunities Program. This program will provide grants to promote 
innovative applications of information technology in under-served 
communities.
    I am pleased that over $1.0 billion is provided for the COPS II/21st 
Century Policing initiative, the successor to the highly effective 
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which will enable 
local police departments to begin a five-year plan to hire up to 50,000 
additional community police officers, hire new community prosecutors, 
and expand community-based prevention efforts. While the appropriated 
funding level is still below my original request, it is $444 million 
above the FY 2000 level, and will enable the COPS II program to fund 
almost 6,000 new officers in FY 2001.
    The Act provides almost $100 million for the Department of Justice's 
counterterrorism and cybercrime initiatives. This funding level will 
allow for improved efforts to meet the growing challenges of terrorism 
and cybercrime, including State and local first-responder training, 
staff support for the Joint Terrorism Task Forces and enhanced 
technology and intelligence-gathering along the northern border. The 
Department of Justice's components of the Gun Enforcement Initiative are 
funded at $103 million. This appropriation will support over 600 
Federal, State and local gun prosecutors, and increase research on smart 
gun technologies. The Indian Country Law Enforcement initiative is 
funded at $111 million. This funding, which is $19 million above the FY 
2000 level, will allow the Department of Justice to assist tribes in 
hiring and equipping law enforcement personnel, constructing detention 
and court facilities, and developing alternative sentencing programs for 
alcohol and substance abusers.
    I am pleased that the Act provides $4.7 billion for the regular 
operations of the Department of State, including diplomatic and consular 
programs; information technology investments; and, building leases, 
maintenance and repair. These funds will pay for support costs critical 
to maintaining the Department's network of overseas posts and the 
conduct of foreign affairs worldwide. The funded increases include 
expanded efforts to promote trade compliance and enhance labor and 
environmental monitoring. Funding for embassy security and construction 
also includes requested support for projects of the Agency for 
International Development. The Act also provides full funding for the 
Administration's pilot program to allow unclassified communication and 
sharing of information for all U.S. Government agencies operating at an 
overseas post, as recommended by the Overseas Presence Advisory Panel.
    The Act also provides $846 million for Contributions to 
International Peacekeeping Activities. Funding at this level will allow 
the United States to continue to support vital UN peacekeeping 
operations, including ongoing missions in Kosovo, East Timor, Ethiopia/
Eritrea and Sierra Leone.
    I am also pleased that the Act provides $17 million for the 
Departments of Commerce and State and the United States Trade 
Representative to help ensure U.S. companies and workers receive the 
full benefits from the WTO and other bilateral agreements signed by the 
United States. This funding will help to put experts overseas to deal 
with compliance issues that continue to hinder fair access to markets, 
double

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staff focused on China and Japan, and strengthen antidumping/
countervailing duty investigation capabilities.
    I am pleased that H.R. 4577, the Consolidated Appropriations bill, 
modifies immigration provisions included in this Act, and that the 
modified legislation will ease immigration restrictions on an estimated 
700,000 immigrant families living in the United States. The provisions 
will extend section 245(i) until April 30, 2001, as opposed to January 
14, 1998, under current law, to allow aliens (and their spouses and 
children) who apply for an adjustment of status or a labor certification 
to remain in the United States until such petition is approved. 
Additionally, the provisions will create a new, temporary non-immigrant 
visa for spouses and children of spouses of legal permanent residents 
and U.S. citizens seeking to enter the United States to await approval 
of legal permanent resident status for themselves (the ``V'' visa). The 
provisions will also allow certain individuals who were not granted 
amnesty under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 who are 
currently seeking such relief through the courts to apply for permanent 
residency. While I am disappointed that the legislation fails to 
eliminate the disparate treatment under our immigration laws sought for 
Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Haitians, and Liberians and does 
not provide any relief for deserving individuals affected by changes in 
the 1996 immigration law, it is the best compromise that could be 
reached after several rounds of intense negotiations.
    I am also pleased that the Consolidated Appropriations bill, once 
signed, will eliminate an objectionable provision in the Commerce/
Justice/State Act that purports to protect citizens from the 
unauthorized sale or display of social security numbers but would not, 
in fact, provide privacy safeguards that are adequate.
    Although the funding levels in this Act are acceptable, I am 
troubled that several issues could not be resolved despite my 
Administration's best efforts during the final negotiations on the Act. 
Notably, the Act does not include new hate crimes protections, and fails 
to extend the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. I strongly urge the 
next Congress to reconsider these actions in future legislation.
    In addition, this bill greatly restricts low-power FM radio 
broadcast. Low power radio stations are an important tool in fostering 
diversity on the airwaves through community-based programming. I am 
deeply disappointed that Congress chose to restrict the voice of our 
nation's churches, schools, civic organizations and community groups. I 
commend the FCC for giving a voice to the voiceless and I urge the 
Commission to go forward in licensing as many stations as possible 
consistent with the limitations imposed by Congress.
    I also oppose language in the Act related to the Kyoto Protocol. The 
language is inappropriate because the Administration has no intent of 
implementing the Protocol prior to congressional ratification. The Act 
includes an additional number of provisions regarding the conduct of 
foreign affairs that raise serious constitutional concerns. My 
Administration's objections to these and other language provisions have 
been made clear in previous statements of Administration policy. I 
direct the agencies to construe these provisions to be consistent with 
the President's constitutional prerogatives and responsibilities and 
where such a construction is not possible, to treat them as not 
interfering with those prerogatives and responsibilities.
    Finally, section 629 of the Act amends the Interstate Horseracing 
Act of 1978 to include within the definition of the term ``interstate 
off-track wager,'' pari-mutuel wagers on horseraces that are placed or 
transmitted from individuals in one State via the telephone or other 
electronic media and accepted by an off-track betting system in the same 
or another State. The Department of Justice, however, does not view this 
provision as codifying the legality of common pool wagering and 
interstate account wagering even where such wagering is legal in the 
various States involved for horseracing, nor does the Department view 
the provision as repealing or amending existing criminal statutes that 
may be applicable to such activity, in particular, sections 1084, 1952, 
and 1955 of Title 18, United States Code.
    Several essential modifications to this bill are contained in H.R. 
4577, the Consolidated Appropriations bill. I am signing H.R. 4942 into 
law today because I believe the Act, as modified by H.R. 4577, will meet 
the overall needs and priorities of the American people. I urge the next 
Congress and my successor to continue to promote the needs of the 
American citizenry

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by pursuing resolution to the troublesome issues I have highlighted 
above.

                                                      William J. Clinton

 The White House,

 December 21, 2000.

Note: H.R. 4942, approved December 21, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
553.