[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 48 (Monday, December 6, 1999)]
[Pages 2458-2465]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing Consolidated Appropriations Legislation for Fiscal 
Year 2000

November 29, 1999

    I have signed into law H.R. 3194, the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act for FY 2000. I am pleased that my Administration and the Congress 
were able to reach agreement on the first budget of the 21st Century--
producing a hard-won victory for the American people.
    This legislation makes progress on several important fronts. It puts 
education first, honoring our commitment to hire 100,000 qualified 
teachers to lower class size in the early grades and doubling the funds 
for after school and summer school programs.
    It makes America a safer place. The bill provides an acceptable 
funding level for my 21st Century Policing Initiative, which builds on 
the success of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. 
To date, the COPS program has funded more than 100,000 additional police 
officers for our streets. This bill funds the first increment of the 
21st Century Policing initiative, which will place an additional 30,000 
to 50,000 police officers on the street over the next 5 years, while 
expanding the concept of community policing to include community 
prosecution and law enforcement technology assistance. I appreciate the 
Congress' efforts to forge a bipartisan commitment to the program, which 
will build upon our successful efforts to reduce crime in our 
communities.
    The bill strengthens our effort to preserve natural areas and 
protect our environment by its support of my Lands Legacy Initiative. I 
am very pleased that the bill does not include most of the environmental 
riders that would have put special interests above the national 
interest.
    This budget agreement also strengthens America's leadership role in 
the world by

[[Page 2459]]

paying our dues and arrears to the U.N.; by meeting our commitments to 
the Middle East peace process; by making critical investments in debt 
relief for the poorest countries, by enhancing the security of our 
overseas personnel; by providing for new, critical peacekeeping 
missions; and by funding efforts to safeguard nuclear weapons in Russia.

Labor/Health and Human Services/Education Bill

    Specifically, I am pleased that the legislation provides $1.3 
billion for the second installment of my plan to help reduce class size 
in the early grades. The Republican proposal did not guarantee funding 
for the teachers hired last year and would have instead allowed Class 
Size dollars to be used for virtually any activity, including vouchers. 
The final budget agreement supports the over 29,000 teachers hired last 
year plus an additional 2,500 teachers.
    The bill appropriately includes several other high priority 
education initiatives. One million students will continue to be served 
by the Reading Excellence Initiative and 375,000 more students than last 
year will have access to 21st Century Community Learning Centers. By 
providing $145 million for Public Charter Schools, approximately 650 
more schools than last year will receive startup funding.
    I commend the Congress for providing increases to several programs 
in my Hispanic Education Agenda that address the disproportionately low 
educational achievement and high dropout rates of Latino and limited 
English proficient students. The Hispanic Education Agenda includes 
programs such as Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs), 
Adult Education, Bilingual Education, the High School Equivalency and 
College Assistance Migrant Programs (HEP/CAMP), Hispanic-serving 
Institutions, and support services to promote the graduation of low-
income college students (TRIO).
    I am disappointed, however, that this legislation does not provide 
any of the funding that I specifically requested for Troops to Teachers. 
This lack of funding jeopardizes this program, which would have provided 
3,000 new teachers in high-need subject areas and school districts.
    I am pleased that the bill funds most of my major proposals for job 
training, worker protection programs, and grants for working with 
developing countries to establish core labor standards. For example, 
$1.6 billion is included for dislocated worker assistance, enabling the 
program to provide training and re-employment services to 858,500 
dislocated workers. Since 1993, my Administration has succeeded in 
tripling funding for, and participation in, programs that help 
dislocated workers return to work.
    As authorized in the bipartisan Workforce Investment Act of 1998, 
the Congress has provided $140 million to expand services to job seekers 
at One-Stop centers.
    I am pleased that the bill provides the funds I requested for major 
youth job training programs. Specifically, the bill includes the $250 
million I requested for Youth Opportunity Grants to finance the second 
year of the 5-year competitive grants that provide education, training, 
and support services to 58,000 youth in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise 
Communities. In addition, the bill provides the $1 billion for Youth 
Activities Formula Grants to provide training and summer employment 
opportunities to an estimated 577,700 youth. Also it includes $55 
million for the final year of Federal funding for the School-to-Work 
initiative. The bill provides $1.4 billion for the Job Corps program, 
including financing for enhanced follow-up services for graduates, 
completion of a four-center expansion initiated in FY 1998, and 
construction of Head Start child care facilities on five Job Corps 
campuses.
    The bill provides $83 million, or 8 percent above the FY 1999 
enacted level, for labor law enforcement agencies, funding key 
initiatives to ensure workplace safety, address domestic child labor 
abuses, encourage equal pay, assist in complying with pension law, and 
promote family leave.
    I am especially pleased that this legislation includes critically 
needed changes to the Welfare-to-Work program's eligibility 
requirements. We have worked closely with the Congress to ensure these 
changes were enacted this year. By simplifying eligibility, this 
legislation will allow the Welfare-to-Work program, within existing 
resources, to serve more effectively long-term welfare recipients

[[Page 2460]]

and noncustodial parents of low-income children. The bill also 
establishes an alternative penalty that is tough, but fair, for States 
that have not implemented certain child support enforcement 
requirements.
    This legislation fully funds my request for Head Start, adding up to 
44,000 new slots for low-income children and continuing on the path to 
serve one million children by FY 2002.
    Unfortunately, the bill reduces the Social Services Block Grant by 
$134 million below the FY 1999 level, undermining programs serving our 
most vulnerable families.
    The bill includes historic investments in biomedical research, 
mental health, pediatric training, and a number of other critically 
important public health initiatives. It also makes an essential 
downpayment on my Safety Net proposal, which is designed to provide 
financial and technical support to those providing a disproportionate 
amount of care to the uninsured. Lastly, it provides payment 
restorations to hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers serving 
the 39 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries.
    It also provides a $34.5 billion investment in health programs, 11.7 
percent above the FY 1999 enacted level, including an historic increase 
of $2.3 billion for the National Institutes of Health. These new 
initiatives will strengthen the public health infrastructure, provide 
critical prevention and treatment services to individuals with mental 
illness, and invest in pediatric training programs. Specifically, the 
bill provides $40 million to support graduate medical education at 
freestanding children's hospitals, which play an essential role in the 
education of the Nation's pediatricians; $67 million above the FY 1999 
funding level for the Mental Health Block Grant, a 23 percent increase 
over FY 1999 and the largest increase ever; $30 million for health 
education, prevention, and treatment services to address health 
disparities among minority populations; and an additional $62 million 
over FY 1999 funding levels to provide critical immunizations to 
children nationwide. The $239 million for the Title X Family Planning 
program will enable family planning clinics to extend comprehensive 
reproductive health care services to an additional 500,000 clients who 
are neither Medicaid-eligible nor insured. In addition, the $25 million 
for the Health Care for the Uninsured Initiative will support the 
development of integrated systems of care and address service gaps 
within these systems.
    It provides $25 million, a full down payment on our proposed $1 
billion investment to develop integrated systems of care for the 
uninsured. It also dedicates an additional $15 million to identify the 
best ways to deliver health care coverage to this population. I am 
pleased that the bill includes a $73 million increase in funding for HIV 
prevention activities to help stop the spread of this disease; an 
increase of $183 million in the Ryan White CARE Act, which helps provide 
primary care and support for those living with HIV/AIDS; and an 
estimated $300 million in additional funds for AIDS-related research at 
the NIH. The bill also includes $80 million in funding to the Minority 
AIDS Initiative, which utilizes existing programs to reach African-
Americans, Latinos, and other racial and ethnic minorities that are 
disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, as well as an additional $100 
million to fight AIDS internationally. Finally, the Administration 
helped protect local authority over HIV prevention activities, 
successfully removing language from the District of Columbia 
appropriations bill that would have tied the hands of community health 
agencies in their ability to use needle exchange programs as part of 
their overall HIV prevention strategy.
    The bill includes $264 million to expand HHS' bioterrorism 
initiative. It provides $52 million for the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention's (CDC) national pharmaceutical stock pile and $123 
million for CDC to expand national, State, and local epidemiologic, 
laboratory, and surveillance planning capacity, as well as to conduct a 
vaccine study. The bill also fully funds my request to expand the number 
of Metropolitan Medical Response Systems that can respond to the health 
and medical consequences of a chemical, biological, or nuclear incident, 
and to enhance smallpox and anthrax vaccine research and development. I 
am particularly pleased that the bill funds the creation of a new 
national electronic disease surveillance system, which will also help 
detect outbreaks

[[Page 2461]]

and strengthen the public health delivery system.
    I commend the Congress for providing funding for my Nursing Home 
Initiative, including resources for more rigorous inspections of nursing 
facilities and improved Federal oversight of nursing home quality, and 
for funding the 31-percent increase in Home-Delivered Meals that I 
requested.
    Finally, the bill also includes the Balanced Budget Refinement Act 
of 1999, which invests $16 billion over 5 years to address the flawed 
policy and excessive payment reductions resulting from the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997. It lifts caps on therapy services, increases 
payments for very sick nursing home patients, restores teaching hospital 
funding, and eases the transition to the new prospective payment system 
for hospital outpatients. It also includes provisions to limit cost-
sharing requirements for Medicare beneficiaries and extends coverage of 
important immunosuppressive drugs. Unfortunately, it includes provisions 
that are not justifiable, such as a $4 billion payment increase to 
managed care plans that are already overpaid according to most experts. 
This is troubling because any excess payments from the Medicare trust 
fund put the program at greater risk.

Commerce/Justice/State Bill

    Regrettably, the bill does not contain a needed hate crimes 
provision that was included in the Senate version of the bill. I urge 
the Congress to pass legislation in a timely manner that would 
strengthen the Federal Government's ability to combat hate crimes by 
relaxing jurisdictional obstacles and by giving Federal prosecutors the 
ability to prosecute hate crimes that are based on sexual orientation, 
gender, or disability, along with those based on race, color, religion, 
and national origin.
    I am pleased that we were able to secure additional funds for the 
Legal Services Corporation. Adequate funding for legal services is 
essential to ensuring that all citizens have access to the Nation's 
justice system. Similarly, through negotiations with the Congress, the 
funding level for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was 
increased above the FY 1999 enacted level. The additional funds will 
assist the EEOC in its continued progress in reducing the backlog of 
employment discrimination cases.
    The bill funds my requested $13 million increase for the Department 
of Justice's Civil Rights Division. These funds will support law 
enforcement actions related to hate crimes, the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, and fair housing and lending.
    The legislation contains adequate funding for the decennial census, 
and includes a compromise on language requiring the Census Bureau to 
allocate funds among eight functions or frameworks. With the decennial 
census approaching, I am confident that this language will not inhibit 
the Census Bureau's ability to actually conduct the census.
    The United States has recently entered into the U.S.-Canada Pacific 
Salmon Agreement. The Agreement ends years of contention between the 
U.S. and Canada regarding expired fishing harvest restrictions and 
provides for improved fisheries management. I am pleased that 
legislative riders that would have hindered implementation of this 
important Agreement have been modified or removed from the bill. In 
addition, additional funds have been provided for implementation of the 
Agreement and for other salmon recovery efforts. These funds will allow 
us to work cooperatively with our partners--Canada, a number of western 
States, and Treaty Tribes--to implement the Agreement and to restore 
Pacific coastal salmon runs.
    The bill does not provide additional requested funding to the 
Department of Justice for tobacco litigation, but does not preclude the 
expenditure of funds for this purpose. We will identify existing 
resources to pursue this important case. Smoking-related health expenses 
cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year through Medicare, veterans' 
and military health, and other Federal health programs. The $20 million 
I requested is needed to represent the interests of the tax-payers, who 
should not have to bear the responsibility for these staggering costs.
    Critical funds were added to help our Nation's 24 million small 
businesses. The bill now includes $16.5 million for my New Markets 
Initiative to invest in targeted rural and urban areas. Also, funding 
levels were increased for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 
operating expenses and disaster

[[Page 2462]]

loan program. These funds will enable the SBA to provide critical 
services, including a fast and effective response to Hurricane Floyd.
    I regret that a provision is included that would amend the recently 
enacted Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000, that 
could limit the access of Federal government employees to contraceptive 
coverage.

Foreign Operations Bill and Other International Affairs Appropriations 
and Authorizations

    I am pleased that we were able to reach bipartisan agreement with 
the Congress on a level of funding for international affairs programs 
that supports our continued engagement on key global issues. Most 
notably, we were able to agree to meet our obligations to the United 
Nations, which will allow us to keep our vote in the General Assembly. 
We also obtained additional funding for international peacekeeping 
efforts seeking to redress the instability and suffering caused by 
conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, and Africa.
    The bill includes my full request for the Wye River Agreement, which 
will support our partners in the Middle East as they accelerate their 
historic attempt to secure a permanent peace. We gained bilateral 
funding for the new Cologne debt reduction initiative, as well as 
agreement from the Congress to allow the International Monetary Fund to 
use existing resources to finance its portion of the initiative, 
allowing us to begin to lessen the crushing debt burden that many of the 
world's poorest nations face as they try to implement difficult economic 
and democratic reforms.
    Unfortunately, the bill also includes a provision on international 
family planning that I have strongly opposed throughout my 
Administration. This is a one-time provision that imposes additional 
restrictions on international family planning groups. However, I 
insisted that the Congress allow for a Presidential waiver provision, 
which I have exercised today.
    I have instructed USAID to implement the new restrictions on family 
planning money in such a way as to minimize to the extent possible the 
impact on international family planning efforts and to respect the 
rights of citizens to speak freely on issues of importance in their 
countries, such as the rights of women to make their own reproductive 
decisions. As I have stated before, I do not believe it is appropriate 
to limit foreign NGOs' use of their own money, or their ability to 
participate in the democratic process in their own countries. Thus, I 
will oppose inclusion of this restriction in any future appropriations 
bill.
    The bill takes a step in the right direction in terms of paying our 
dues and our debts to the United Nations and other international 
organizations. The bill includes most of the funds requested for U.N. 
arrears, as well as the United Nations Reform Act, which authorizes 
payment of these arrears contingent upon certain U.N. reforms. My 
Administration is committed to making sure that all of our debts are 
paid, and, while doing so, pressing for reforms that will make the U.N. 
more efficient and effective.
    International peacekeeping activities in this bill are funded at a 
level of $500 million, $300 million above the level in the bill that I 
vetoed. This additional funding is crucial and will support the United 
States' response to emergent peacekeeping requirements in Kosovo, Asia, 
and Africa. In each of these places, the United States has worked with 
allies and friends to end conflicts that have claimed countless innocent 
lives and thrown whole regions into turmoil. This funding will help 
America do its part to make and keep the peace in troubled regions.
    On a number of other critical foreign policy priorities, we were 
able to achieve bipartisan agreements that will directly affect the 
lives of Americans and others alike. We fully funded a new initiative 
that will significantly expand our efforts to stem the spread of HIV/
AIDS in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. We significantly 
increased funding for programs aimed at reducing the threat of weapons 
of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere. We agreed 
to a significant package of assistance to Kosovo and Southeastern Europe 
that will help to solidify the fragile peace that we and our NATO allies 
have secured. We initiated

[[Page 2463]]

new programs that will help to provide alternatives to the child labor 
practices that are still too prevalent in much of the world. I am 
particularly pleased the bill provides my full request for embassy 
security to protect the men and women who serve our country abroad.
    There are still important commitments and goals that were not 
adequately addressed in this bill. I am disappointed that we did not 
achieve all of the funding that we need to fully implement the 
multilateral portion of the Cologne debt initiative, and that we were 
not able to meet our commitments to provide multilateral environmental 
assistance through the Global Environment Facility. However, in total, 
this bill demonstrates that the bipartisan consensus that America must 
remain engaged in global affairs, which has guided our interaction with 
the rest of the world since the end of the Second World War, is still 
very much alive and well, and I am hopeful that it will continue to 
guide our foreign policy into the 21st Century.
    I continue to believe that various provisions prohibiting 
implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in this bill are unnecessary, as my 
Administration has no intent of implementing the Protocol prior to 
ratification. Furthermore, I will consider activities that meet our 
responsibilities under the ratified U.N. Framework Convention on Climate 
Change to be consistent with this provision. Finally, to the extent 
these provisions could be read to prevent the United States from 
negotiating with foreign governments about climate change, it would be 
inconsistent with my constitutional authority. Accordingly, I will 
construe this provision as not detracting from my authority to engage in 
the many activities, both formal and informal, that constitute 
negotiations relating to climate change.
    This legislation includes a number of provisions in the various Acts 
incorporated in it regarding the conduct of foreign affairs that raise 
serious constitutional concerns. These provisions would direct or burden 
my negotiations with foreign governments and international 
organizations, as well as intrude on my ability to maintain the 
confidentiality of sensitive diplomatic negotiations. Similarly, some 
provisions would constrain my Commander in Chief authority and the 
exercise of my exclusive authority to receive ambassadors and to conduct 
diplomacy. Other provisions raise concerns under the Appointments and 
Recommendation Clauses. My Administration's objections to most of these 
and other provisions have been made clear in previous statements of 
Administration policy and other communications to the Congress. Wherever 
possible, I will construe these provisions to be consistent with my 
constitutional prerogatives and responsibilities and where such a 
construction is not possible, I will treat them as not interfering with 
those prerogatives and responsibilities.

District of Columbia Bill

    With respect to the District of Columbia bill, I am pleased that the 
majority and minority in the Congress were able to come together to pass 
a version that I can sign. While I continue to object to remaining 
riders that violate the principles of home rule, some of the highly 
objectionable provisions that would have intruded upon local citizens' 
right to make decisions about local matters have been modified from 
previous versions of the bill. My Administration will continue to 
strenuously urge the Congress to keep such riders out of the FY 2001 
D.C. Appropriations Bill.
    I commend the Congress for providing the Federal funds I requested 
for the District of Columbia. The bill includes essential funding for 
District Courts and Corrections and the D.C. Offender Supervision Agency 
and provides requested funds for a new tuition assistance program for 
District of Columbia residents. The bill also includes funding to 
promote the adoption of children in the District's foster care system, 
to support the Children's National Medical Center, to assist the 
Metropolitan Police Department in eliminating open-air drug trafficking 
in the District, and for drug testing and treatment, among other 
programs.

Interior and Related Agencies Bill

    With respect to the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
bill, I commend the Congress for agreeing on an acceptable version--one 
that does not include most of the highly objectionable provisions that

[[Page 2464]]

would harm the environment and benefit special interest groups by 
allowing the inappropriate use of national forests and other public 
lands and resources.
    In particular, we have reached a fair compromise on millsite claims 
under the 1872 Mining Law. Hardrock mining operations under existing 
approved plans of operations, as well as applications for new mining 
plans filed by the date of the Interior Solicitor's Opinion of November 
7, 1997, would go forward without the Department of the Interior 
applying the five-acre-per-mining-claim millsite limitation. The 
Department of the Interior would impose this limitation on plans for new 
hardrock mining operations filed after November 7, 1997; it would also 
impose the limitation on amended plans of operations filed after 
November 7, 1997, that add millsite acreage.
    Our agreement also will allow final rules to take effect in the near 
future that will provide a fair return to the taxpayers for the 
development of Federal oil resources; and will ensure more effective 
environmental protection in hardrock mining on Federal lands.
    This bill provides two-thirds of the funds I requested for my Lands 
Legacy initiative and represents a significant improvement over prior-
year funding, allowing us to protect such irreplaceable national 
treasures as the Baca Ranch in New Mexico, the Everglades in Florida, 
wilderness lands in the California Desert, and Civil War battlefield 
sites that are threatened by urban sprawl. There is also adequate 
support given to the Clean Water Action Plan. I am especially pleased 
with the additional funding for the Forest Service and for abandoned 
mine lands reclamation, which would make significant progress in 
addressing acid mine drainage and watershed problems in the Appalachian 
region. I look forward to working with the Congress next year to provide 
full and permanent funding for my Lands Legacy proposal, including full 
Federal and State funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
    My Administration has also been able to secure additional funding 
for energy conservation, the single largest component of my Climate 
Change Technology Initiative, which will help us to form the 
partnerships with industry that are vital to the development of a new 
generation of ultra-efficient cars, more efficient and affordable 
housing, and more efficient, less-polluting industrial processes. This 
progress will help us to address the threat of global warming 
economically and practically.
    I commend the Congress for the historic $157.2 million increase for 
Indian health, which is only slightly below the $172 million increase 
the Administration sought for the Indian Health Service. This funding 
increase represents a continuing demonstration of the Federal commitment 
to improve the health status of Native Americans and Alaska natives. I 
also commend the Congress for the removal of an objectionable rider that 
would have infringed on tribal sovereignty, and for providing specific 
funding to accommodate new contracts with tribes.
    Although I am disappointed that the Congress has failed to increase 
funding for the National Endowment for the Arts for the eighth straight 
year, I am pleased with the generally positive debate and the first 
increase in 4 years in funding for the National Endowment for the 
Humanities.
    The bill also contains language on the American Heritage Rivers 
initiative. I believe that the congressional language is unnecessary and 
unfortunate. I will direct the Departments funded by this bill, within 
existing laws and authorities, to continue to support and undertake 
community-oriented services or environmental projects on rivers I have 
recognized as part of the initiative.
    By increasing critical funding for land conservation efforts and 
removing harmful environmental provisions, the legislation represents a 
step forward in efforts to protect the environment and manage Federal 
lands and resources responsibly.

Disaster Assistance

    I am pleased that the bill includes over $500 million in additional 
funds for our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities to help 
them recover from natural disasters, particularly this year's 
hurricanes. These funds will help farmers clear their streams and fields 
for next year's crop, just as the $2.5 billion in loans provided in the 
bill will help them secure the financing they

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need for planting. Vitally needed funds are included to help low-income 
rural families and farm laborers repair and replace housing damaged by 
Hurricane Floyd, and low-interest loans will be available to repair and 
replace farm structures and equipment lost in the storm. In addition, 
$186 million is included for additional crop loss payments across the 
country, including areas in the East that suffered through one of the 
worst droughts in memory. The bill also provides funding to implement 
the mandatory livestock price reporting authority included in the 
Agriculture Appropriations Act, which will make the livestock market 
more transparent and particularly help small producers get a fair price 
for their livestock in the market.

Authorization Bills/Other Issues

    The bill also includes a provision that would delay the Department 
of Health and Human Services's Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
Network Final Rule for a minimum of 42 days from the bill's effective 
date. This Final Rule is in response to my Administration's belief that 
the current organ allocation policies by the Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network are inequitable because patients with similar 
severities of illness are treated differently, depending on where they 
may live or at which transplant center they may be listed.
    The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act--part of the Intellectual 
Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999--will increase 
the ability of satellite companies to compete against cable companies, 
and will result in more customer choice, lower prices, and increased 
access to local news and information. This Act puts the TV remote 
control back into consumers' hands and competition at their fingertips. 
In addition, the patent reform legislation that the Administration has 
fought for will help meet the needs of America's inventors and 
entrepreneurs. It strengthens protection in a number of ways: it extends 
the term of a patent when there is an administrative delay in the patent 
process; it requires the timely domestic publication of patent 
applications that are also filed abroad; and it reinvents the Patent and 
Trademark Office as a performance-based organization to better serve 
America's entrepreneurs and innovators.
    Unfortunately, the Congress did not fund my additional request to 
protect the Nation's critical computer and information based 
infrastructures from a growing threat of cyber attack from hostile 
nations, terrorists, or criminals.
    In order that $68 million in interest accrued by the Abandoned Mine 
Land Fund (to be transferred to the United Mine Workers of America 
Combined Benefits Fund--designated by the Congress as an emergency 
requirement) not be scored against the discretionary spending caps, I 
hereby designate that amount as an emergency requirement pursuant to 
section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985, as amended. I will shortly be designating other 
funds in this legislation as emergency requirements.
    Finally, there are several provisions in the bill that purport to 
require congressional approval before Executive Branch execution of 
aspects of the bill. I will interpret such provisions to require 
notification only, since any other interpretation would contradict the 
Supreme Court ruling in INS vs. Chadha.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House
November 29, 1999.

Note: H.R. 3194, approved November 29, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
113. This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
November 30.