[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 44 (Monday, November 2, 1998)]
[Pages 2108-2114]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental 
Appropriations Act, 1999

October 23, 1998

    I have signed into law H.R. 4328, the ``Omnibus Consolidated and 
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999.''
    This bill represents a significant step forward for America. It 
protects the surplus until we have saved Social Security for the 21st 
century, contains an agreement to fund the International Monetary Fund, 
and puts in place critical investments in education and training, from 
smaller class sizes to after-school care, and from summer jobs to 
college mentoring. I am pleased that this bill honors my commitment to 
maintain fiscal discipline by providing additional resources for 
essential new investments, which are fully financed

[[Page 2109]]

within the limits of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement.
    Specifically, the legislation provides needed funds for education 
and training, including a down payment on my plan to reduce class size 
in the early grades by hiring 100,000 new teachers. It provides added 
resources to protect the environment, to move people from welfare to 
work, to strengthen law enforcement, to enforce civil rights, and to 
further efforts that advance health, research, and development. And with 
this legislation, funds can be made available to farmers suffering 
through the worst farm emergency in a decade.
    First, this legislation provides an additional $4.4 billion for 
education and training, furthering the goal of life-long education to 
help Americans acquire the skills they need to succeed in the new global 
economy. In addition to funding my class size initiative, this bill will 
help advance child literacy by meeting my full request for the America 
Reads program, and by increasing funding for Head Start. It also 
supports an important part of my child-care initiative: the focus on 
improving the quality of child-care programs and the funding provided 
for after-school programs should help approximately 1,600 21st Century 
Community Learning Centers, serving nearly a quarter of a million 
children, to provide extended learning activities and related services 
in safe and constructive environments with adult supervision.
    I am pleased that included in this legislation are three other high-
priority education initiatives--GEAR UP, Teacher Quality Enhancement 
Grants, and Learning Anytime, Anywhere Partnerships--that were recently 
authorized in the Higher Education Act. Charter School funding will 
provide start-up resources to about 1,400 schools, serving approximately 
400,000 students; my Youth Opportunity Areas initiative will provide 
intensive training and related services to help 50,000 disadvantaged 
youth in very high poverty areas get good jobs; and more than a half-
million young people will be able to participate in the Summer Jobs 
program.
    College students will benefit from funding in this legislation, 
which provides the largest Pell Grant maximum award in history and 
expands the Work-Study program to help nearly one million students work 
their way through college. I am also very pleased that the Congress 
provided virtually all my requested increases for the Hispanic Education 
Action Plan funded in this bill.
    My commitment to a clean and healthy environment is advanced 
significantly in this legislation. Additional resources will be used to 
combat water pollution through the Clean Water Action Plan, fight global 
warming, protect national parks and other precious lands, preserve 
wildlife, and develop clean energy technologies. There are also funds to 
support the Save America's Treasures Millennium Initiative, and for the 
purchase of sensitive and historic lands.
    At the same time, we have been able to prevent the inclusion of 
harmful riders specific to the environment, including ones that would 
have delayed salmon restoration in the Northwest, built a road through 
designated wilderness areas in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, and 
forced overcutting of timber in national forests.
    I am pleased that we are able to reach agreement with the bipartisan 
leadership to fulfill our commitment to fund and pay arrears to the 
Global Environmental Facility (GEF), established in 1991. This funding 
will help GEF in its fight against global warming, promotion of 
biodiversity, and reduction of energy consumption world-wide.
    By providing $17.9 billion in funding for the International Monetary 
Fund, this legislation makes a significant contribution to protecting 
our domestic economy from global turmoil. In addition, I am pleased that 
the Congress has provided additional funding for key international 
programs. Some examples are assistance to the Newly Independent States 
(NIS), support for nonproliferation activities, such as the Korean 
Energy Development Organization and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 
preparatory commission; and payments of assessed contributions to 
international organizations. However, I am deeply troubled that the 
United States remains unable to pay its arrears to the United Nations 
and other international organizations. Funding to meet our international 
commitments should not be linked to unrelated family planning issues.

[[Page 2110]]

    I am pleased that this legislation contains my proposal to 
streamline the executive branch's policy-making process in foreign 
affairs by putting matters of international arms control, sustainable 
development, and public diplomacy where they belong--at the heart of our 
foreign policy within a reinvented Department of State. Under the 
reorganization plan, first the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, then 
the United States Information Agency will be integrated with the 
Department of State. The Agency for International Development will 
remain a distinct agency, but will share certain administrative 
functions with the Department of State and will report to and be under 
the direct authority and foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of 
State. I am also pleased that the bill includes the implementing 
legislation for the Chemical Weapons Convention, which the Senate 
approved in May 1997. It was critical to have legislation in this area 
before the Congress adjourned.
    I appreciate the Congress approving the Administration's initiative 
to provide additional funding for military readiness and for ongoing 
operations in Bosnia. These funds will ensure that the U.S. military can 
sustain its high levels of preparedness and advance our efforts in 
Bosnia to implement the Dayton Accords.
    For law enforcement, the bill provides $1.4 billion to ensure that 
my program to put 100,000 more police on the streets of America's 
communities by the year 2000 proceeds on schedule--17,000 additional 
officers will be funded. The bill also includes funding to support my 
Administration's efforts to both secure our borders and to provide 
immigration benefits to those seeking citizenship. Funding for 1,000 
Border Patrol agents, border technology, and detention support has been 
provided to deter drug trafficking and illegal entry at the border. The 
funding level also provides an additional $171 million to address a 
backlog in citizenship applications, fix the naturalization program, and 
ensure that the benefit of citizenship is not delayed unnecessarily for 
those who have earned it. It funds the Indian Country law enforcement 
initiative that will increase the number of law enforcement officers on 
Indian lands, expand detention facilities, enhance juvenile crime 
prevention, and improve the effectiveness of tribal courts.
    I am pleased that increased funding for the Legal Services 
Corporation (LSC) will enable the LSC to provide additional services to 
people with financial need. While it is regrettable that my full request 
for the LSC was not met this year, I intend to continue to press for 
additional funding to allow the expansion of services in the future.
    Civil rights protection is enhanced on numerous fronts. There is an 
increase of funding to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to 
significantly expand the Commission's alternative dispute resolution 
program and reduce the backlog of discrimination complaints. There are 
also increases in funding to the Department of Education's Office of 
Civil Rights, the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract 
Compliance, and the Department of Justice's Office of Civil Rights and 
its Community Relations Service, which mediates and resolves racial and 
ethnic conflicts in communities.
    This bill will also address the long-standing discrimination claims 
of many minority farmers by adopting my request to waive the statute of 
limitations on USDA discrimination complaints that date back to the 
early 1980s. This will finally provide these farmers the fair and 
expedited hearing--and where past discrimination is found, the fair 
compensation--they have long deserved.
    In addition, funding for HUD's Fair Housing programs will increase 
significantly, and will provide resources for a new audit-based 
enforcement initiative.
    I am pleased that this legislation contains a program of targeted 
grants to Empowerment Zones, providing communities with flexible funds 
to carry out local development strategies and to bring jobs and 
investment to disadvantaged areas. I look forward to working with the 
Congress next year to expand this program.
    The District of Columbia receives a total of $620 million of Federal 
support, including $125 million of special one-time payments requested 
by my Administration for economic development, special education, and 
help for the District in addressing the Year

[[Page 2111]]

2000 computer problem. Funds for the District of Columbia will permit 
further implementation of my plan for revitalizing the Nation's Capital, 
and will be used to spur growth and for the public charter school 
program, among other programs.
    While I am pleased that we were able to secure significant funding 
increases of AIDS services and prevention generally, I am nonetheless 
disappointed that the Congress has chosen to deny the people of the 
District of Columbia the right to save lives with a proven HIV 
prevention program of needle exchange. The Congress' action will deny 
Federal funding to any private agency in the District of Columbia that 
uses its own funds in this way, putting countless women and children at 
risk for AIDS and undermining the principle of home rule in the 
District.
    There are significant advancements to improve the health of 
Americans by advancing research and by improving the safety of our food 
supply. The Food Safety Initiative will expand education, surveillance, 
import inspections, research, and risk assessment activities. The 
Congress also made a critical down payment on my proposed 21st Century 
Research Fund for America by adding $2 billion for biomedical research 
at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This will enable NIH to 
pursue new methods of diagnosing, treating, preventing, and curing 
diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and HIV/AIDS. There are 
new increases in funding for disease prevention research at the Centers 
for Disease Control and for health outcomes research at the Agency for 
Health Care Policy Research. I am also pleased that this legislation 
provides $1.4 billion for Ryan White Care Act activities, including the 
AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which provides funds to States to help 
uninsured and underinsured people with HIV purchase life-saving 
pharmaceutical therapies. Finally, there is a new, critical $130 million 
investment to address the problem of HIV/AIDS in the minority community.
    I am pleased that for the first time, this Act will require health 
plans that participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program 
and provide prescription drug coverage to include contraceptives as part 
of that coverage. The section exempts from this requirement five 
specifically named religious plans and any other existing or future plan 
that objects to the requirement on the basis of religious beliefs.
    I am also pleased that the Congress has agreed to fund several 
urgent needs on an emergency basis. The nearly $6 billion of funding in 
this bill for farm emergencies reflects my commitment to meet the needs 
of our Nation's farmers who are suffering through the worst agricultural 
crisis in more than a decade. The bill addresses my concerns over 
emergency farm assistance funding that prompted my veto of the 
Agricultural Appropriations bill earlier this month.
    The Act also includes needed emergency funding to help parts of our 
country recover from recent natural disasters, including Hurricane 
Georges; address unanticipated requirements associated with year 2000 
computer conversion activities; strengthen our diplomatic security, 
anti-terrorism, and counterterrorism efforts; support our troops in 
Bosnia; and enhance military readiness. While the Act provides many 
investments to help prepare America for the next century, there is still 
much work to do for the future.
    Now that we have embarked on a path to adding 100,000 teachers to 
our school systems, we must make sure that they will be able to teach in 
new and modern schoolrooms, I will continue to fight for my school 
modernization program which, with fully paid for tax credits, would 
leverage nearly $22 billion in bonds to build and renovate schools.
    While this bill provided important new funding to improve the 
quality of child care, more needs to be done. I will continue to push 
for additional critical investments, including subsidies and tax credits 
to make child care safer and more affordable for America's working 
families.
    I believe strongly that a voluntary national test for our children's 
achievement is essential so that parents can know how well their 
children and their schools are performing on a basis that fairly 
compares them to others. This bill, unfortunately, includes language 
prohibiting any pilot testing or administration of voluntary national 
tests. We will continue work on test development, and we will continue 
to work with the Congress to eliminate

[[Page 2112]]

this bar to national testing so that we can advance the hopes of all 
parents for their children's education.
    I will continue to make it a top priority to urge the Congress to 
pass a strong, enforceable patients' bill of rights that would assure 
Americans the quality health care they need. In a rapidly changing 
health care system, Americans need and deserve essential patient 
protections, such as access to specialists, an independent appeals 
process, and remedies to make these rights real. I also will urge the 
Congress to pass the bipartisan Work Incentives Improvement Act, which 
provides workers with disabilities the option to buy into Medicare and 
Medicaid, as well as other pro-work incentives. Finally, the Congress 
must pass needed tobacco legislation to reduce teen smoking.
    The Act also contains provisions relating to preparations for the 
year 2000 Census. An accurate census is essential to our democracy and 
to basic fairness, and the Census Bureau is doing all it can to count 
each and every American in the 2000 Census. To count everyone, including 
nonrespondents, the Census Bureau must use proven scientific statistical 
techniques. Despite overwhelming support from impartial statistical 
experts for using such modern scientific methods, some in the Congress 
have opposed them. These opponents have proposed instead an approach 
that, even at vastly greater cost, will exclude millions of people--
especially children and minorities. I am pleased that this Act contains 
sufficient funds to allow the Census Bureau to continue preparations for 
a decennial census using the most accurate methods.
    This Act funds the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State 
through June 15, 1999. By that time, we should have the benefit of the 
Supreme Court's decision whether we can use up-to-date scientific 
methods in the census for purposes of apportioning Congressional seats 
among the States. We are confident that the Court will not consign us to 
18th century methods to deal with 21st century problems. It is 
imperative that the Congress, before June 15, 1999, fund these 
departments for the entire fiscal year without excluding millions of 
Americans from the census. I am committed to ensuring that the year 2000 
is the most accurate census possible.
    I am also disappointed that the Congress provided less funding than 
I requested for the Federal Aviation Administration to operate the 
Nation's air traffic control system. While safety of the flying public 
will not be compromised, these reductions will result in an enormous 
challenge to provide critical aviation services and keep pace with a 
growing aviation industry.
    Unfortunately, the Act also includes language that would cap the 
award of plaintiffs' attorneys' fees in special education cases to a 
maximum of $50 per hour and $1,300 per case. While this language is less 
objectionable than the original proposal that sought to ban compensation 
for plaintiffs attorneys' fees for special education administrative pro-
ceedings, I still find this provision unacceptable. It will undoubtedly 
restrict poor families in the District of Columbia from having adequate 
access to the due process protections provided by the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). I pledge that next year I will work 
to eliminate this cap and ensure that the rights of disabled children 
and their families are protected.
    It is unfortunate the bill does not lift the cap on transfers to 
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of the excise tax on rum as I had 
proposed and many in the Congress supported. This measure was consistent 
with the basic laws regarding those jurisdictions and the Caribbean 
Basin Initiative. The objection that thwarted it will deny urgently 
needed fiscal assistance to the 4 million U.S. citizens who live on 
these islands.
    I am disappointed that the Congress failed to enact either of my 
proposed trade initiatives, the African Growth and Opportunity Act or 
the Caribbean Basin Initiative. My plans to expand our trade relations 
with nations in Africa and the Caribbean would benefit the United States 
and the economies of these developing countries. I firmly believe that 
the free flow of goods and services is an essential part of our Nation's 
successful economic strategy and I will continue to pursue these 
initiatives so that economies in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as 
our own, can benefit from an expansion in free trade.

[[Page 2113]]

    I am also disappointed that the Act includes a provision that could 
undermine the ability of Federal law enforcement to conduct large, 
multi-state investigations, such as those related to terrorist attacks, 
drug cartels, and interstate child exploitation. This provision was 
opposed by the law enforcement community, national victims groups, and 
many in the House and Senate. The effective date of the provision is 6 
months from now. My Administration will work with the Congress over the 
next few months on potential legislative remedies to ensure that we can 
continue to enforce Federal laws and protect the public.
    There are a number of provisions in the Act that may raise 
Constitutional issues. These provisions will be treated in a manner that 
is consistent with the Constitution.
    I am concerned about section 117 of the Treasury/General Government 
appropriations section of the Act, which amends the Foreign Sovereign 
Immunities Act. If this section were to result in attachment and 
execution against foreign embassy properties, it would encroach on my 
authority under the Constitution to ``receive Ambassadors and other 
public Ministers.'' Moreover, if applied to foreign diplomatic or 
consular property, section 117 would place the United States in breach 
of its international treaty obligations. It would put at risk the 
protection we enjoy at every embassy and consulate throughout the world 
by eroding the principle that diplomatic property must be protected 
regardless of bilateral relations. Absent my authority to waive section 
117's attachment provision, it would also effectively eliminate use of 
blocked assets of terrorist states in the national security interests of 
the United States, including denying an important source of leverage. In 
addition, section 117 could seriously affect our ability to enter into 
global claims settlements that are fair to all U.S. claimants, and could 
result in U.S. taxpayer liability in the event of a contrary claims 
tribunal judgment. To the extent possible, I shall construe section 117 
in a manner consistent with my constitutional authority and with U.S. 
international legal obligations, and for the above reasons, I have 
exercised the waiver authority in the national security interest of the 
United States.
    Section 609 of the Commerce/Justice/State appropriations provision 
of the Act prohibits the use of funds to maintain diplomatic relations 
with Vietnam unless the President provides the Congress with a detailed 
certification that Vietnam has satisfied specific conditions. This 
provision unconstitutionally constrains the President's authority with 
respect to the conduct of diplomacy, and I will apply this provision 
consistent with my constitutional responsibilities.
    Section 610 of the Commerce/Justice/State appropriations provision 
prohibits the use of appropriated funds for the participation of U.S. 
armed forces in a U.N. peacekeeping mission under foreign command unless 
the President's military advisers have recommended such involvement and 
the President has submitted such recommendations to the Congress. The 
``Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities'' provision 
requires a report to the Congress prior to voting for a U.N. 
peacekeeping mission. These provisions unconstitutionally constrain my 
diplomatic authority and my authority as Commander in Chief, and I will 
apply them consistent with my constitutional responsibilities.
    Section 514 of the Foreign Operations/Export Financing 
appropriations section purports specifically to direct the Executive on 
how to proceed in negotiations with international organizations. These 
provisions could interfere with my constitutional authority in the area 
of foreign affairs. I shall treat all such provisions as advisory.
    Section 625 of the Treasury/General Government appropriations 
section prohibits the use of appropriations to pay the salary of any 
employee who interferes with certain communications between Federal 
employees and Members of Congress. I do not interpret this provision to 
detract from my constitutional authority and that of my appointed heads 
of departments to supervise and control the operations and 
communications of the executive branch, including the control of 
privileged and national security information.
    Section 722 of the Agriculture/Rural Development appropriations 
section specifies that funds may not be used to provide to any non-
Department of Agriculture employee questions or responses to questions

[[Page 2114]]

resulting from the appropriations hearing process. To the extent that 
this provision would interfere with my duty to ``take Care that the Laws 
be faithfully executed,'' or impede my ability to act as the chief 
executive, it would violate the Constitution, and I will treat it as 
advisory.
    Section 754 of the Agriculture/Rural Development appropriations 
section constrains my ability to make a particular type of budget 
recommendation to the Congress. This provision would interfere with my 
constitutional duty under the Recommendation Clause, and I will treat it 
as advisory.
    Finally, several provisions in the Act purport to condition my 
authority or that of certain officers to use funds appropriated by the 
Act on the approval of congressional committees. My Administration will 
interpret such provisions to require notification only, since any other 
interpretation would contradict the Supreme Court ruling in INS v. 
Chadha.
    The Omnibus Appropriations bill contains several emergency 
provisions that are contingent on a Presidential emergency designation.
    I hereby designate the following amounts as emergency requirements 
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended:
<bullet>    Department of Defense: Military Construction, Army: 
            $118,000,000;
<bullet>    Department of Defense: Operation and Maintenance, Army; 
            $104,602,000;
<bullet>    Department of Defense: Operation and Maintenance, Air Force: 
            $1,700,000;
<bullet>     Legislative Branch: Architect of the Capitol, Capitol 
            Visitor Center: $100,000,000;
<bullet>    Legislative Branch: Capitol Police Board, Security 
            Enhancements: $106,782,000;
<bullet>    Legislative Branch: Senate, Contingent Expenses of the 
            Senate, Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate: 
            $5,500,000;
<bullet>    Legislative Branch: House of Representatives, Salaries and 
            Expenses, Salaries, officers and employees: $6,373,000;
<bullet>    Legislative Branch: General Accounting Office, Information 
            Technology Systems and Related Expenses: $5,000,000;
<bullet>    The Judiciary: Judicial Information Technology Fund: 
            $13,044,000.
    My Administration is undertaking a review of these issues and will 
make additional emergency designations in a timely manner.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 23, 1998.

Note: H.R. 4328, approved October 21, was assigned Public Law No. 105-
277. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.