[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 15 (Monday, April 17, 1995)]
[Pages 603-604]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and 
Rescissions Legislation

April 10, 1995

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 889, an Act ``Making emergency 
supplemental appropriations and rescissions to preserve and

[[Page 604]]

enhance the military readiness of the Department of Defense for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and for other purposes.''
    I commend the Congress for its action on my request to replenish the 
Department of Defense for funds used to perform contingency operations 
in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, and elsewhere. These funds 
are required to ensure that our forces are provided the resources they 
need to continue their superb performance.
    I also commend the Congress for recognizing that to maintain peace 
in today's world, we must continue our investments in a number of key 
nonmilitary programs. I commend the Congress for making certain that the 
United States is able to fulfill its promise to the Russians that is 
linked to their removal of troops from the Baltics. The Nunn-Lugar 
program was also spared from reductions that would seriously impair its 
effectiveness. In addition to enabling continued progress in dismantling 
the weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, the Nunn-
Lugar program helps ensure that personnel in the strategic rocket forces 
of the former Soviet Union do not become a source of instability.
    Although funding for debt forgiveness linked to the historic peace 
agreement between Jordan and Israel was removed from this bill, it 
remains urgent that the Congress pass debt relief for Jordan as part of 
legislation that can be signed into law. This agreement has improved 
prospects for overall peace in the region markedly, and I urge the 
Congress to support this American promise.
    Regrettably, rescissions will reduce some of my Administration's 
technology priorities, which serve as a foundation for America's future 
competitiveness and national security. Nevertheless, reductions in this 
Act are less than those in earlier versions of the bill. The Technology 
Reinvestment Project (TRP), Advanced Technology Program (ATP), and 
National Information Infrastructure grants program will remain vital 
components of my Administration's technology-related initiatives.
    Despite my Administration's objections, the Act contains a provision 
that will rescind $1.5 million for listing threatened and endangered 
species and determining critical habitats needed for the recovery of 
such species, while imposing a moratorium until the end of this fiscal 
year on the remaining funds. As a result, these provisions will impair 
the Administration's ability to proceed on its recently announced 
package of reform principles and consequently, our ability to respond to 
the needs and concerns of private landowners.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
April 10, 1995.

Note: H.R. 889, approved April 10, was assigned Public Law No. 104-6.