[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 26 (Monday, July 4, 1994)]
[Page 1383]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act 1994

June 30, 1994

    I am pleased to sign into law S. 24, the reauthorization of the 
Independent Counsel Act. This law, originally passed in 1978, is a 
foundation stone for the trust between the Government and our citizens. 
It ensures that no matter what party controls the Congress or the 
executive branch, an independent, nonpartisan process will be in place 
to guarantee the integrity of public officials and ensure that no one is 
above the law.
    Regrettably, this statute was permitted to lapse when its 
reauthorization became mired in a partisan dispute in the Congress. 
Opponents called it a tool of partisan attack against Republican 
Presidents and a waste of taxpayer funds. It was neither. In fact, the 
independent counsel statute has been in the past and is today a force 
for Government integrity and public confidence.
    This new statute enables the great work of Government to go 
forward--the work of reforming the Nation's health care system, freeing 
our streets from the grip of crime, restoring investment in the people 
who make our economy more productive, and the hard work of guaranteeing 
this Nation's security--with the trust of its citizens assured.
    It is my hope that both political parties would stand behind those 
great objectives. This is a good bill that I sign into law today--good 
for the American people and good for their confidence in our democracy.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
June 30, 1994.

Note: S. 24, approved June 30, was assigned Public Law No. 103-270.