[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 41 (Monday, October 16, 2000)]
[Pages 2378-2379]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval the 
``Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2001''

October 7, 2000

To the House of Representatives:

    I am returning herewith without my approval, H.R. 4733, the ``Energy 
and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2001.'' The bill contains an 
unacceptable rider regarding the Army Corps of Engineers' master 
operating manual for the Missouri River. In addition, it fails to 
provide funding for the California-Bay Delta initiative and includes 
nearly $700 million for over 300 unrequested projects.
    Section 103 would prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from revising 
the operating manual for the Missouri River that is 40 years old and 
needs to be updated based on the most recent scientific information. In 
its current form, the manual simply does not provide an appropriate 
balance among the competing interests, both commercial and recreational, 
of the many people who seek to use this great American river. The bill 
would also undermine implementation of the

[[Page 2379]]

Endangered Species Act by preventing the Corps of Engineers from funding 
reasonable and much-needed changes to the operating manual for the 
Missouri River. The Corps and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are 
entering a critical phase in their Section 7 consultation on the effects 
of reservoir project operations. This provision could prevent the Corps 
from carrying out a necessary element of any reasonable and prudent 
alternative to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of the 
endangered least tern and pallid sturgeon, and the threatened piping 
plover.
    In addition to the objectionable restriction placed upon the Corps 
of Engineers, the bill fails to provide funding for the California-Bay 
Delta initiative. This decision could significantly hamper ongoing 
Federal and State efforts to restore this ecosystem, protect the 
drinking water of 22 million Californians, and enhance water supply and 
reliability for over 7 million acres of highly productive farmland and 
growing urban areas across California. The $60 million budget request, 
all of which would be used to support activities that can be carried out 
using existing authorities, is the minimum necessary to ensure adequate 
Federal participation in these initiatives, which are essential to 
reducing existing conflicts among water users in California. This 
funding should be provided without legislative restrictions undermining 
key environmental statutes or disrupting the balanced approach to 
meeting the needs of water users and the environment that has been 
carefully developed through almost 6 years of work with the State of 
California and interested stakeholders.
    The bill also fails to provide sufficient funding necessary to 
restore endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest, which would 
interfere with the Corps of Engineers' ability to comply with the 
Endangered Species Act, and provides no funds to start the new 
construction project requested for the Florida Everglades. The bill also 
fails to fund the Challenge 21 program for environmentally friendly 
flood damage reduction projects, the program to modernize Corps 
recreation facilities, and construction of an emergency outlet at 
Devil's Lake. In addition, it does not fully support efforts to research 
and develop nonpolluting, domestic sources of energy through solar and 
renewable technologies that are vital to America's energy security.
    Finally, the bill provides nearly $700 million for over 300 
unrequested projects, including: nearly 80 unrequested projects totaling 
more than $330 million for the Department of Energy; nearly 240 
unrequested projects totaling over $300 million for the Corps of 
Engineers; and, more than 10 unrequested projects totaling in excess of 
$10 million for the Bureau of Reclamation. For example, more than 80 
unrequested Corps of Engineers construction projects included in the 
bill would have a long-term cost of nearly $2.7 billion. These 
unrequested projects and earmarks come at the expense of other 
initiatives important to taxpaying Americans.
    The American people deserve Government spending based upon a 
balanced approach that maintains fiscal discipline, eliminates the 
national debt, extends the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, 
provides for an appropriately sized tax cut, establishes a new voluntary 
Medicare prescription drug benefit in the context of broader reforms, 
expands health care coverage to more families, and funds critical 
investments for our future. I urge the Congress to work expeditiously to 
develop a bill that addresses the needs of the Nation.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 7, 2000.