[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 52 (Monday, December 27, 2004)]
[Page 3013]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing Communications Legislation

December 23, 2004

    Today, I have signed into law H.R. 5419, a bill consisting of three 
titles. Title I is the ``ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004,'' which strengthens 
the ability of Americans to use the 911 telephone number to seek 
emergency assistance. Title II is the ``Commercial Spectrum Enhancement 
Act,'' which facilitates the spectrum relocation of Federal entities so 
that certain spectrum can be reallocated to commercial users. Title III 
is the ``Universal Service Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act,'' 
which makes the Antideficiency Act temporarily inapplicable to certain 
collections, receipts, expenditures and obligations relating to 
universal communications service.
    Section 104 amends section 158(a)(2) of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to 
call for executive branch officials to submit to congressional 
committees funding profiles for a specified 5-year program. The 
executive branch shall construe the provision in a manner consistent 
with the constitutional authority of the President to recommend for the 
consideration of the Congress such measures, including proposals for 
appropriations, as he judges necessary and expedient.
    Sections 202 and 204 enact sections 113(g)(5) and 118(d) of the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization 
Act, which purport to condition the execution of a law upon notification 
to congressional committees coupled with either approval by the 
committees or the absence of disapproval by the committees within a 
specified time. The executive branch shall construe the provisions to 
legally require only notification to the committees, as any other 
construction would be inconsistent with the principles enunciated by the 
Supreme Court of the United States in INS v. Chadha. The Secretary of 
Commerce will continue as a matter of comity to work with the committees 
on matters addressed by these provisions.
    As is consistent with the principle of statutory construction of 
giving effect to each of two statutes addressing the same subject 
whenever they can co-exist, the executive branch shall construe section 
302 of the Act in a manner consistent with section 254 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, which provides the Federal Communications 
Commission with the authority to maintain funding caps for Universal 
Service Fund programs.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 December 23, 2004.

Note: At the time of publication, H.R. 5419, approved December 23, 
including Title I, the ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004, Title II, the Commercial 
Spectrum Enhancement Act, and Title III, the Universal Service 
Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act, had not been received by the 
Office of the Federal Register for assignment of a Public Law number. An 
original was not available for verification of the content of this 
statement.