[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 41 (Monday, October 18, 1999)]
[Pages 2005-2006]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Department of Transportation and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

October 9, 1999

    I have signed into law H.R. 2084, the ``Department of Transportation 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000.'' The bill provides $47.1 
billion in funding for the Nation's vital transportation and related 
safety needs. The record level of infrastructure investment provided by 
this measure, which I requested, will enhance use and efficiency, 
provide better connections, and help improve the conditions and 
performance of the Nation's transportation system.
    This bill's funding levels for highway and transit programs will 
allow us to continue making substantial improvements in travel 
conditions and transit ridership. Completing the full funding of our 
request for Coast Guard operating expenses will improve the safety of 
all Americans by enabling the expansion of the Coast Guard's vital 
search and rescue, law enforcement, and drug interdiction activities. 
Provision of our request for Amtrak capital funds will improve passenger 
service and keep the rail service on the
5-year glide path to operating self-sufficiency that was agreed to in 
1997 by the Congress and my Administration.
    I am concerned about the funding level provided in the bill for 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations and capital programs. 
For example, the bill provides $144 million less than my request for FAA 
operations. This reduction will slow hiring for safety and security 
positions and postpone implementation of needed efficiency and 
management improvements. The bill also constrains funding for the 
modernization of the air traffic control system, including needed 
modernization and improvement of the Global Positioning System. These 
reductions may increase air travel delays and ill-position the FAA to 
meet the growing challenges of the future. My Administration will work 
with the Congress to rectify the consequences of these harmful 
reductions.
    Section 321 of this bill again blocks the Department of 
Transportation from evaluating corporate average fuel economy standards 
to determine whether the vehicles we drive can be more fuel efficient. 
Because of similar provisions, the Department has been unable to carry 
out its responsibility to review this issue for several years, during 
which time the average fuel economy has dropped to its lowest level 
since 1980, adding to pollution and to the Nation's dependency on 
imported oil. I am very disturbed by this limitation on my 
Administration's ability to address this critical issue. We cannot 
continue to ignore this. For that reason, we will soon invite the 
leaders of the auto industry to the White House to try to find a way to 
address this issue notwithstanding the limitation in this bill.
    I appreciate the increase in funding for motor carrier safety 
provided in the bill, as it is the goal of the Secretary of 
Transportation to reduce motor carrier safety fatalities by 50 percent 
within 10 years. However, I am disappointed that the full funding 
requested for motor carrier safety grants to States was not provided, as 
this funding is needed to help achieve this goal. I am also concerned 
about language that precludes enforcement action, and my Administration 
will work with the Congress to address this problem.
    I am also troubled by the widespread earmarking of vital highway and 
transit programs without regard to criteria that have been established 
to ensure that these are sound investments. For example, a number of 
projects specified for the Job Access and Reverse Commute program are 
strictly for research, an activity that would not otherwise be eligible 
for this funding. In general, earmarks tend to be aimed at projects that 
have not advanced in the local planning process and, as a result, the 
funding will likely remain unused for a longer period of time, depriving

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ready-to-go projects of needed Federal assistance.
    I recognize the widespread transportation needs of our country, 
which is why transportation infrastructure investment during my 
Administration has increased by 32 percent above the previous 
Administration's average. However, our transportation investment must be 
strategic and applied to critical needs, and excessive earmarking can 
undermine this goal. I ask the House and Senate Appropriations 
Committees to work with the Department of Transportation to see that 
essential projects that can quickly utilize Federal funding are given 
the ability to move forward.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 9, 1999.

Note: H.R. 2084, approved October 9, was assigned Public Law No. 106-69. 
This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
October 12.