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This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on the Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Bill, FY 1999, as reported by the House Appropriations
Committee. Your consideration of the Administration's views would be
appreciated.
The Administration appreciates the Committee's support for many of the
President's priorities within the 302(b) allocation. For example, we
appreciate the Committee's funding of law enforcement programs in general
and the COPS program in particular. Funding COPS at the requested level of
$1.4 billion is consistent with the Balanced Budget Agreement and would
enable us to achieve the goal of hiring 100,000 additional police officers
by the year 2000.
However, the allocation is simply insufficient to make the necessary
investments in other critical programs funded by this bill. The only way
to achieve the appropriate investment level is to offset discretionary
spending by using savings in other areas. The President's FY 1999 Budget
proposes levels of discretionary spending for FY 1999 that conform to the
Bipartisan Budget Agreement by making savings in mandatory and other
programs available to help finance this spending. In the Transportation
Equity Act, Congress -- on a broad, bipartisan basis -- took similar action
in approving funding for surface transportation programs paid for with
mandatory offsets. We want to work with the Congress on mutually agreeable
mandatory and other offsets that would be used to increase high-priority
discretionary programs, including those funded by this bill. In addition,
we hope that the Committee will reduce funding for lower priority and
unrequested discretionary programs, and redirect funding to programs of
higher priority.
The Administration has very serious concerns, discussed below, with the
Committee's inadequate funding of a number of priority programs, as well as
with objectionable language provisions. If the bill were presented to the
President in its current form, the President's senior advisers would
recommend that the President veto the bill.
Legal Services Corporation
The Committee bill funds the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) at $141
million, $142 million below the FY 1998 enacted level and $199 million
below the President's request of $340 million. This funding level is
unacceptable. It represents a 65-percent cut from the FY 1995 level of
$400 million, would severely cripple the program, and calls into question
the Federal Government's commitment to ensuring that all Americans,
regardless of income, have access to the Judicial system. The Supreme
Court recently ruled that interest on lawyer trust accounts (IOLTAs) are
the private property of clients and cannot be used to generate resources
for civil legal services. This eliminates a funding source that provided
LSC programs with more than $57 million last year and underscores the
importance of action to fully fund the President's request. The
Administration strongly supports efforts to increase funding for the LSC.
Small Business Administration
The Administration strongly objects to the Committee's funding levels for
the administration of the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) programs.
The Committee's funding level for the Salaries and Expenses account regular
operating expenses represents a 27- percent reduction from the President's
request, and includes a requirement that all of the reduction be taken from
headquarters functions. Such funding levels would require reductions in
staff by more than 1,200 staff years through severe reductions-in-force.
Not even the elimination of all headquarters employees would satisfy the
Committee report requirement to take reductions solely from non-District
Offices.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Administration strongly urges the House to fully fund the President's
request of $279 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC), $18.5 million above the Committee mark. The additional resources
are essential and would allow EEOC to reduce the backlog of pending
complaints and implement much-needed reforms in the way all complaints are
managed, including an enhanced alternative dispute resolution program. We
look forward to working with Congress to provide funding for EEOC and other
programs included in the President's civil rights enforcement initiative.
Department of Commerce
- Decennial Census. The language in the Committee bill is
unacceptable. It is critical that the Congress provide full-year
funding for the Decennial Census without any restrictions on the use of
statistical sampling. Delays or disruptions would unacceptably
complicate the management of this massive operation. We urge the Rules
Committee to permit an amendment that removes these onerous language
restrictions and provide funding that allows the Census Bureau to
implement its current plan. This plan was developed by statistical
experts and based on recommendations from the National Academy of
Sciences, which found that regardless of cost, the methods of the past
could not achieve satisfactory accuracy. The statistical methods
incorporated in the Bureau's plan would produce the most accurate census
possible and virtually eliminate the large undercounts of minorities,
children and other groups that occurred in the 1990 census.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The
Administration objects to inadequate funding for Administration
priorities within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), including: the Clean Water Initiative to protect coastal
communities; the GLOBE program, which promotes scientific discovery and
student achievement; and, activities to implement the Endangered Species
Act and Magnuson-Stevens Act. Reductions to the Climate and Global
Change Program would slow research to understand the implications of
extreme weather events such as El Nino. In addition, by not fully
funding the request for the National Weather Service, the Committee
threatens vital services. Also, the Administration strongly objects to
the extension of exclusive fishery management authority in Alabama,
Louisiana, and Mississippi, which would undermine the current management
regime to protect fisheries resources. Finally, the Administration is
concerned with funding restrictions in bill language that could limit
NOAA's ability to fulfill its mission.
The Administration is also particularly concerned about inadequate
funding to fulfill contract obligations for the geostationary weather
satellite program. Renegotiation or termination of these contracts
would jeopardize satellite continuity and increase costs. The recent
failure of the GOES-9 satellite underscores the need to maintain
production schedules. The satellite allowance would necessitate a
restructuring of the converged satellite program -- a complex and
carefully negotiated multi-agency system.
- National Institute for Standards and Technology. The
Administration is concerned that the Committee's exclusion of the
requested advance appropriation for the Advanced Measurement Laboratory
would increase costs and delay completion by at least a year. We are
also very disappointed by the lack of support for the Advanced
Technology Program, which fosters cutting-edge research. The Committee
allowance would support only $43 million in new awards, 54 percent below
the President's request of $94 million for new awards.
- Statistics Initiatives. The Administration is concerned
about inadequate funding for high- priority statistical initiatives,
especially the improvement of National Account measures, the Poverty
Measure initiative, and the Continuous Measurement program, which will
provide annual demographic information on the population and eliminate
the need for the "long form" in the 2010 Census.
- Minority Business Development Agency. Management reforms at
the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) have improved delivery
of programs and technical assistance, and MBDA has emerged as a
stronger, more focused agency. The Administration objects to the
reduction to MBDA's base and requests restoration of $2.8 million.
- National Information Infrastructure Program and Other Issues.
In the Committee bill, the National Information Infrastructure program
is reduced by $4 million (20 percent) below the FY 1998 enacted level.
Such a reduction would substantially decrease seed money for innovative
information technology projects. In addition, the Administration
strongly objects to onerous reporting requirements that would require
the Department to notify Congress before exporting satellites to
China.
Year 2000 Computer Conversion
In the FY 1999 Budget, the President has requested more than $1 billion
for Y2K computer conversion. In addition, the budget anticipated that
additional requirements would emerge over the course of the year and
included an allowance for emergencies and other unanticipated needs. It
is essential to make Y2K funding available quickly and flexibly. The
House effort to defer action on the emergency fund in the Treasury and
General Government Appropriations bill is very troubling, particularly in
light of several Subcommittees, including the Commerce, Justice, State
Subcommittee, deciding to not fund the base Y2K requests.
Department of Justice
The Administration appreciates the Committee's continued support for law
enforcement and other Department of Justice activities. However, as
discussed below, we are concerned about Committee action in a number of
areas.
- Title V -- At-Risk Children's Grant Program. The
Administration urges the House to provide $95 million requested for the
At-Risk children's proposal. The At-Risk proposal supports local
community prevention programs such as mentoring, truancy prevention, and
gang intervention to prevent young people from becoming involved in the
criminal justice system.
- Drug Testing and Intervention. We are disappointed by the
Committee's failure to provide any of the $85 million requested for the
drug testing and intervention program. Systematic drug testing is a
proven, cost-effective means of using the coercive power of the criminal
justice system to move non-violent offenders into drug treatment
programs.
- Imposition of State Ethics Rules. The Administration
strongly opposes the provisions in the bill that would impose State
ethics rules on Federal attorneys and establish an independent board
that could fire Federal agents, prosecutors, and civil law enforcement
attorneys. These provisions would undermine Federal law enforcement by
subjecting Department of Justice attorneys to multiple and inconsistent
State rules of conduct, transferring to the States the authority to
regulate the conduct of Federal attorneys in the performance of their
Federal law enforcement duties.
- Protection Against Terrorism, Including Use of Chemical and
Biological Weapons. We appreciate the Committee's support of the
Administration's effort to combat terrorism, particularly the use of
chemical and biological weapons. However, we ask that the Committee
fully fund the request for the Attorney General's Counterterrorism Fund,
including funding for local bomb squad equipment.
- Protection Against Cybercrime and Attacks on Our Nation's
Critical Infrastructures. The Committee mark excludes
Counterterrorism Fund support to combat cybercrime, including funding
for potential transfer to other agencies and for the FBI's National
Infrastructure Protection Center. The Department of Commerce has
identified funding requirements for the interagency Critical
Infrastructure Assurance Office, which coordinates the development and
integration of a national critical infrastructure plan. Failure to
provide funding would endanger the Government's efforts to fight
cybercrime.
- Indian Country. We appreciate the Committee mark for Indian
Country. However, we urge the House to fully fund the Administration's
request for Indian Country criminal justice assistance, including FBI
and U.S. Attorneys resources.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Administration is
disappointed that the Committee's level for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) is $52 million below the President's request. We
are particularly concerned about the proposed $30 million funding level
for the FBI's Information Sharing Initiative (ISI), which is $20 million
below the request, and would prevent the FBI from improving its
electronic case file information and thereby increasing the
effectiveness and efficiency of the FBI's investigations. Furthermore,
the reporting requirement on ISI would impede the FBI's ongoing efforts
to provide critical information technology infrastructure support using
existing resources.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service. We appreciate the
Committee's support for the Administration's border control initiative.
However, the Committee's $2.567 billion mark, $156 million below the
President's request, is insufficient to support a comprehensive,
bipartisan border management and enforcement strategy. The President's
request supports increased border management funding for Border Patrol
agents, critical infrastructure and technology, detention support,
interior enforcement, and includes $36 million more than the Committee's
level for Border Patrol, detention, and office construction. We urge
the House to fully fund the President's request.
- Bureau of Prisons/Abortion. The Administration urges the
House to strike section 103 of the Committee bill, which would prohibit
the Bureau of Prisons from funding abortions except in cases of rape or
where the life of the mother is endangered. The Department of Justice
believes that there is a great likelihood that this provision would be
held unconstitutional.
- Juvenile Justice Block Grant. The Administration is
concerned that the $250 million Juvenile Justice Block Grant in the
Committee bill may authorize a broad and unfocused range of spending,
and urges the House to provide funding for more targeted activities,
including direct funds for local prosecutors to target juvenile and
quality of life crimes.
- Narrowband Communications. The Administration is
disappointed that the Committee has not provided the $86 million
requested to establish a fund for the consolidation and coordination of
the Department's conversion to narrowband communications systems. We
urge the House to establish such a fund and to restore the $24 million
in base resources that are excluded from the Committee mark.
Potential Amendment Related to Presidential Executive Order
The Administration would strongly oppose an amendment that may be offered
that would prohibit the use of funds in the Act for implementing the May
28, 1998, Presidential Executive Order which provides a uniform policy for
the Federal Government to prohibit employment discrimination based on
sexual orientation in the Federal civilian workforce.
International Affairs Programs
The Administration appreciates the Committee's support for the Department
of State's Diplomatic and Consular Programs and Salaries and Expenses
accounts. However, we are concerned about the Committee's reduction of $26
million for the Department's operating requirements. Further, the
Committee's reduction of $38 million to the request for information
technology improvements in the Capital Investment Fund would jeopardize the
Department's effort to achieve Y2K compliance. In addition, limits placed
on the amount of fees to execute the President's Border Security Program
that can be used in FY 1999 could slow urgently needed border security
improvements.
The Administration is very concerned about the Committee's $245 million
reduction to the request for Security and Maintenance of U.S. Missions.
The Committee's mark does not fund construction of needed Embassy projects
in Beijing and Berlin and would require offsets against regular security
and maintenance activities to fund initial design work for these important
projects. We request that the Committee provide a funding level consistent
with the President's budget for urgently needed embassy facilities and
ongoing security and maintenance programs, including Y2K-related
activities.
The Administration appreciates the steps the Committee has taken to fund
the request for arrearage payments this year. The Administration wants to
work with the Congress to ensure that these funds are available in a timely
fashion to retain our influence in these organizations and to identify
reform measures that further U.S. interests. However, we strongly oppose
the bill's authorization requirement that is intended to subject this
important foreign policy measure to the unrelated issue of family planning
policy. There is legitimate disagreement over this issue, but none of the
U.N. and related international organizations arrears payments is related to
this issue. Therefore, it is wholly inappropriate to hold the payment of
U.S. arrears hostage to the family planning issue.
Further, although the Committee has provided significant funding for the
Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) and Contributions for
International Peacekeeping Activities for FY 1999, the Administration is
concerned that reductions in these accounts would increase arrears and
impair the ability of the United States to address foreign policy interests
through the mechanism of U.N. peacekeeping.
The Administration opposes the Committee's proposal to provide up to $15
million for Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty needs by transfer from
the CIO account without any increase in funding. We strongly believe that
these important activities should be funded at the $29 million level, as
requested in the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related
Programs account.
The Administration is concerned about the $21 million overall reduction to
the request for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). Given that the USIA
request is virtually at the FY 1998 level, the Committee's reduction would
hurt core public diplomacy activities, Year 2000 compliance, critical
broadcasting activities including broadcasting to Africa, and important
grant programs. We urge the House to provide funding for USIA's operating
and special accounts at the requested level.
Finally, the Administration is concerned about the Committee's reductions
for the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the Asia Foundation, the
American Institute in Taiwan, and the International Commissions. Such
reductions would place a disproportionate burden on the operating budgets
of these small agencies.
Federal Communications Commission
The Administration is very concerned about the lack of funding for any of
the requested increases for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The Committee's funding level could require an agency-wide furlough or
reduction-in-force, impairing the FCC's ability to implement the mandates
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and to carry out critical mission
operations.
Teamsters Election
The Administration objects to the continuation of last year's rider that
prohibits the use of funds for supervising the Teamster's election, despite
a court order requiring the Federal Government to pay for a supervised
election.
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