[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 43 (Monday, November 1, 1999)]
[Pages 2126-2128]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

October 22, 1999

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 1906, the ``Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2000.''
    The Act provides $14.1 billion in discretionary budget authority for 
programs of the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug 
Administration, including the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for 
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); food safety programs; and various 
programs to protect and support rural communities.
    The Act also provides $8.6 billion in emergency funds to assist our 
Nation's farmers and ranchers who are suffering through the second year 
in a row of low commodity prices and, for many, crop and livestock 
losses from severe drought and flooding. My Administration will work 
hard to ensure that these funds are distributed to farm families as soon 
as possible; however, because the Congress wrote some of the programs in 
a complex manner, farmers and ranchers need to understand that, for my 
Administration to implement them fairly, some of the assistance will 
take some time to provide. This is the second year in a row that 
substantial additional Federal assistance has been needed, on top of our 
regular farm programs, due to deficiencies in the 1996 Farm Bill--
further evidence that the 1996 Act simply does not provide an adequate 
farm safety net.
    I continue to be concerned that the income assistance in the Act I 
have signed today is provided through supplemental Farm Bill income 
support payments, and therefore is not targeted to producers most in 
need. These payments are made based on past production, which may have 
no relation to the crops grown or the market situation facing producers 
this year, and in some cases payments are made to individuals who are no 
longer farming. There is now, however, an urgent need for farm 
assistance, and so I have approved H.R. 1906. But I once again call on 
the Congress to work with my Administration to fix the 1996 Farm Bill 
permanently so American producers have the assurance of an adequate farm 
income safety net, while they continue their work to feed us all.
    While the Act's funding for crop and livestock losses from natural 
disasters has been increased over the amount in the Senate bill, it 
still will not adequately meet the devastating farm losses in many parts 
of the country. In addition, H.R. 1906 cuts farm loans by 25 percent 
from last year, which is simply untenable as we head into a crop year 
when farmers and lenders alike are saying that they will need even more 
Federal financing help than last year. The Act also does not include 
emergency conservation funds to help farmers and rural communities 
affected by Hurricane Floyd to clear their fields and streams of debris 
and restore their small waterways. My Administration will work in the 
remaining days of this session of Congress to secure funding for these 
and other urgent, unmet needs. In addition, I have asked the Vice 
President to work with the Department of Agriculture to implement, 
within existing authorities, measures to improve the operation of 
various conservation programs.
    The additional crop insurance subsidies provided in the Act will 
help producers afford higher coverage next year, but I call on the 
Congress to pass long-term crop insurance reform before adjourning this 
year, to improve this important component of the farm safety net.
    The Congress has not provided the full amount of my requested 
increase for the WIC program, thereby failing to ensure that we can 
achieve the goal of full participation of 7.5 million women, infants, 
and children in this vital program. I also remain opposed

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to the provision that modifies the nonimmigrant farm worker program, 
known as the H-2A program, because it virtually eliminates the 
credibility of the recruitment process that protects legal U.S. farm 
workers. The Act also makes significant cuts in a number of high-
priority conservation programs, including the Wetlands Reserve and 
Environmental Quality Incentives Programs, and fails to fully fund 
implementation of the Clean Water Action Plan and important bioenergy 
and bioproducts research and development. In addition, the Act fails to 
fund the Farmland Protection Program, a valuable conservation program 
that has received bipartisan support in the past and would have 
prevented the conversion of farmland and the loss of a way of life in 
rural communities.
    I am concerned that the Act frustrates initiatives to improve 
customer service in USDA county offices, for example by blocking the 
Secretary of Agriculture's new Support Services Bureau designed to 
modernize administrative functions, at a time when farmers and rural 
residents truly need upgraded assistance. Since the first days of my 
Administration, the Vice President and I have made improved customer 
service and greater administrative efficiency a top priority, which we 
will continue to pursue at the USDA.
    I am concerned that, with the exception of the school breakfast 
pilot projects, H.R. 1906 prohibits the use of Food and Nutrition 
Service funds for research and evaluation of nutrition programs. The 
research needs of these important programs should continue to be 
addressed in the context of the programs' administration. I am asking 
the Secretary of Agriculture to look into this matter and to work with 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on the most 
effective approach to address my concerns.
    I am pleased that the Act provides significant rural development 
loans and grants to help our rural communities diversify economically 
and improve their quality of life. The Act also includes a significant 
portion of the increase I requested for my Food Safety Initiative to 
reduce food-borne illnesses. In addition, the Act establishes mandatory 
livestock price reporting for certain meat processors, which will expand 
information to livestock producers and particularly will help smaller 
producers improve their ability to get a fair price in the marketplace. 
However, I am concerned with the Act's preemption of State price 
reporting requirements, which is compounded by the lack of funding in 
the Act to implement the new Federal requirements. My Administration 
will seek additional funding for these purposes.
    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.
<bullet>    Section 722 of the Act specifies that funds may not be used 
            to provide to any non-Department of Agriculture employee 
            questions or responses to questions 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.
<bullet>    Section 735 of the Act purports to constrain 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.
<bullet>    Finally, there are provisions in the Act that 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.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 22, 1999.

Note: H.R. 1906, approved October 22, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
78. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.

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