[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[July 24, 2001]
[Pages 908-909]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Signing the Supplemental Appropriations Act, FY 2001
July 24, 2001

    Today I signed into law H.R. 2216, the ``Supplemental Appropriations 
Act, FY 2001,'' which provides funding for the Department of Defense and 
other departments.
    This important supplemental appropriation provides urgently needed 
resources to enhance defense readiness and operations and maintenance; 
to improve the morale of our service men and service women, and their 
families; to provide needed home energy assistance for low-income 
families; to aid victims of radiation exposures associated with the 
Government's nuclear weapons testing program; to provide a U.S. 
contribution for the global trust fund to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and 
tuberculosis; and for other purposes.
    I commend the Congress for expeditiously providing critical 
resources needed to improve our support for our men and women in the 
military while maintaining a strict fiscal discipline. The Congress 
provided this additional funding within the budget agreement's 
discretionary spending limits. The resources I requested for the 
Department of Defense will help our military readiness and help lay the 
groundwork for further strengthening after Secretary 
Rumsfeld's ongoing strategy review.
    I applaud the Congress for passing this bill without resorting to 
the abusive use of the emergency designation. We have seen 
``emergencies'' become a recurring part of the budget process, and 
become magnets for special-interest, non-essential spending.
    I will continue to work with the Congress and the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) to see that FEMA meets

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its obligations to perform its extremely important role of disaster 
relief in a thorough and timely manner.
    I hope the bipartisan approval of this bill is a harbinger of 
improved, more orderly deliberations for the remainder of the FY 2002 
appropriations process. The fiscal discipline demonstrated in this 
Supplemental Appropriations Act, developed with collegiality and in a 
timely manner, sets a standard for how the Congress should handle 
spending bills for the next fiscal year.

                                                          George W. Bush

 The White House,

 July 24, 2001.

Note: H.R. 2216, approved July 24, was assigned Public Law No. 107-20.