[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 46 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Pages 2012-2013]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval 
Temporary Public Debt Limit Increase Legislation

November 13, 1995

To the House of Representatives:

    I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 2586, a bill that 
would provide a temporary increase in the public debt limit while adding 
extraneous measures that have no place on legislation of this kind.
    This bill would make it almost inevitable that the Government would 
default for the first time in our history. This is deeply irresponsible. 
A default has never happened before, and it should not happen now.
    I have repeatedly urged the Congress to pass promptly legislation 
raising the debt limit for a reasonable period of time to protect the 
Nation's creditworthiness and avoid default. Republicans in the Congress 
have acknowledged the need to raise the debt limit; the budget 
resolution calls for raising it to $5.5 trillion, and the House and 
Senate voted to raise it to that level in passing their reconciliation 
bills.
    This bill, however, would threaten the Nation with default after 
December 12--the day on which the debt limit increase in the bill would 
expire--for two reasons:
    First, under this bill, on December 13 the debt limit would fall to 
$4.8 trillion, an amount $100 billion below the current level of $4.9 
trillion. The next day, more than $44 billion in Government securities 
mature, and the Federal Government would be unable to borrow the funds 
to redeem them. The owners of those securities would not be paid on 
time.
    Second, the bill would severely limit the cash management options 
that the Treasury may be able to use to avert a default. Specifically, 
it would limit the Secretary's flexibility to manage the investments of 
certain Government funds--flexibility that the Congress first gave to 
President Reagan. Finally, while the bill purports to protect benefit 
recipients, it would make it very likely that after December 12, the 
Federal Government would be unable to make full or timely payments for a 
wide variety of Government obligations, including interest on the public 
debt, Medicare, Medicaid, military pay, certain veterans' benefits, and 
payments to Government contractors.
    As I have said clearly and repeatedly, the Congress should keep the 
debt limit separate from the debate over how to balance the budget. The 
debt limit has nothing to do with reducing the deficit; it has to do 
with meeting the obligations that the Government has already incurred.
    Nevertheless, Republicans in the Congress have resorted to 
extraordinary tactics to try to force their extreme budget and 
priorities into law. In essence, they have said they will not pass 
legislation to let the Government

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pay its bills unless I accept their extreme, misguided priorities.
    This is an unacceptable choice, and I must veto this legislation.
    The Administration also strongly opposes the addition of extraneous 
provisions on this bill. Items like habeas corpus and regulatory reform 
are matters that should be considered and debated separately. Extraneous 
issues of this kind have no place in this bill.
    The Congress should pass a clean bill that I can sign. With that in 
mind, I am sending the Congress a measure to raise the permanent debt 
limit to $5.5 trillion as the Congress called for in the budget 
resolution, without any extraneous provisions.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House
November 13, 1995.