[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 42 (Monday, October 23, 2000)]
[Pages 2503-2504]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
 Statement on Signing the Children's Health Act of 2000

 October 17, 2000

     Today I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 4365, the ``Children's 
Health Act of 2000.'' This legislation authorizes expanded research and 
services for a wide variety of childhood and prenatal health problems, 
reauthorizes programs of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS), and addresses the problem of substance abuse and 
associated violence.
     This Act calls on HHS to continue providing services to children 
whose lives have been affected by diseases such as diabetes, asthma, 
lead poisoning, cancer, and autism, and to expand research in these and 
other areas such as birth defects and brain injuries so that we can 
better understand their causes and develop treatments. I am pleased that 
H.R. 4365 authorizes a new research effort, a national long-term study 
of environmental influences on children's health and development, that 
will provide critical information about environmental, social, and 
economic factors that affect children's health. We hope that with 
increased understanding of children's diseases, we will get closer to 
ultimately finding cures or preventing these conditions from ever 
occurring. I am gratified to see that this bill's focus on children's 
health addresses several priority areas identified by the President's 
Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children.
     I am also pleased that H.R. 4365 authorizes new funds to improve 
the health and safety of children in child care. Available, affordable, 
safe, high-quality child care is a concern for any working parent. I 
have committed my Administration to achieving this goal, and today we 
are making substantial strides forward.
    As a Nation, we continue to face the challenges of curbing substance 
abuse, especially among our youth, preventing youth violence, and 
addressing the mental health needs of our citizens. For this reason, I 
am especially proud of the comprehensive manner in which this 
legislation addresses illegal drug

[[Page 2504]]

abuse, beginning with the reauthorization of SAMHSA. The Act will 
improve mental health and substance abuse services for children and 
adolescents by authorizing grants for youth drug treatment and early 
intervention, suicide prevention, and programs to help children deal 
with violence, and will address the mental health needs of individuals 
in the criminal justice system. The bill also lays the groundwork for 
giving States even more flexibility in the use of block grant funds in 
exchange for greater accountability.
     This bill includes a provision making clear that religious 
organizations may qualify for SAMHSA's substance abuse prevention and 
treatment grants on the same basis as other nonprofit organizations. The 
Department of Justice advises, however, that this provision would be 
unconstitutional to the extent that it were construed to permit 
governmental funding of organizations that do not or cannot separate 
their religious activities from their substance abuse treatment and 
prevention activities that are supported by SAMHSA aid. Accordingly, I 
construe the Act as forbidding the funding of such organizations and as 
permitting Federal, State, and local governments involved in disbursing 
SAMHSA funds to take into account the structure and operations of a 
religious organization in determining whether such an organization is 
constitutionally and statutorily eligible to receive funding.
     The Act also builds upon our ongoing efforts to address the 
emerging threats posed by methamphetamine and Ecstasy use, especially 
among our Nation's youth. It makes medical treatments for heroin 
addiction more available and accessible by allowing qualified physicians 
to prescribe certain medications in their offices, and avoids the 
centralized clinic approach that many addicts find inaccessible and 
stigmatizing. In addition to expanding drug treatment, including 
innovations in medication development, the bill supports increased 
resources for drug programs in the criminal and juvenile justice 
systems. This legislation also supports our law enforcement entities as 
they carry out their responsibilities to make certain that those who 
traffic in these deadly poisons are taken off the streets and are 
punished in a manner commensurate with the seriousness of their 
offenses.
     The programs contained in this bill to improve and expand research 
and services for our children's physical and mental health, and to 
prevent substance abuse and violence, are important investments in the 
well-being of our Nation. For these reasons, I am pleased to sign H.R. 
4365.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 October 17, 2000.

  Note:  H.R. 4365, approved October 17, was assigned Public Law No. 
106-310.