[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 29 (Monday, July 24, 1995)]
[Page 1282]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Budget Rescission Legislation

July 21, 1995

    The rescission bill that the Senate approved, and that I will be 
pleased to sign, shows how we can work together to produce good 
legislation.
    From the start of this rescission process, I agreed with Congress on 
the need to cut spending. The question was, how should we do it?
    I vetoed the original rescission bill because it would have cut 
spending the wrong way, by targeting education and training, 
environmental protection, and other key national priorities. I then 
worked with Republicans and Democrats alike to produce a better bill. I 
am pleased that this bill cuts $16 billion in spending while protecting 
our key investments in education and training, the environment, and 
other priorities.
    Like the earlier version, this bill also provides much-needed 
supplemental funds that I have sought for disaster relief activities of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal responses to the 
bombing in Oklahoma City, increased antiterrorism efforts, and debt 
relief to Jordan to facilitate progress toward a Middle East peace 
settlement.
    To be sure, I do not support every provision of this bill. For 
instance, I still do not believe that this bill should contain any of 
the provisions relating to timber. But the final bill does contain 
changes in the language that preserve our ability to implement the 
current forest plans and their standards, and to protect other resources 
such as clean water and fisheries. Therefore, after signing the 
rescission bill into law, I will direct the Secretary of Agriculture, 
the Secretary of the Interior, and all other Federal agencies to carry 
out timber salvage activities consistent with the spirit and intent of 
our forest plans and all existing environmental laws.
    I am pleased that bipartisan leaders of Congress worked with me to 
produce a good bill. Working together, we can continue to produce good 
legislation for the American people.