[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 24 (Monday, June 19, 2000)]
[Pages 1365-1366]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on House of Representatives Action on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education Appropriations Legislation

June 14, 2000

    Today the House of Representatives narrowly passed on a partisan 
vote the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and 
related agencies appropriations bill. This legislation fails to address 
critical needs of the American people and short changes our efforts to 
help our students achieve higher standards in the classroom.
    The House bill invests too little in our schools and demands too 
little from them. It fails to strengthen accountability and turn around 
failing schools, reduce class size, provide funds for emergency repairs 
and renovating aging schools, sufficiently expand after-school 
opportunities, help prepare low income students for college through GEAR 
UP, and programs to improve teacher quality, and help bridge the digital 
divide. It underfunds child care and fails to adequately invest in Head 
Start. This bill also cuts funding for public health priorities, 
including mental health and substance abuse services, family planning, 
health care access for the uninsured, nursing home quality, family care-
giver support, and infectious diseases.
    In addition, the bill makes deep cuts in worker training programs 
and cuts programs that ensure safe and healthy workplaces, enforce 
domestic labor laws, and help address child labor abuses at home and 
abroad. Regrettably, the bill also includes language prohibiting the 
Department of Labor from finalizing its standard to protect the Nation's 
workers from ergonomic injuries.
    A bill that fails to provide key resources for education, child 
care, worker training, and other priorities is unacceptable. If it

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were presented to me in its current form, I would veto it. I continue to 
hope my administration can work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to 
develop a bill that strengthens our country's education system, 
adequately funds public health priorities, addresses the needs of our 
Nation's workers, and provides for other important national priorities.