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This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on
H.R. 1469, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee. The
Administration appreciates the prompt action of the House Appropriations
Committee on the President's supplemental requests. The bill contains $5.5
billion in urgently needed disaster assistance. To ensure an expeditious
response to the tragic natural disasters that continue to afflict hundreds of
thousands of citizens in 33 States, and for the efficient operation of our
troops abroad, it is essential that this bill remain free of extraneous issues
that could slow its progress.
The Administration continues to believe that the requested supplemental
funding is for matters truly emergency in nature and, therefore, that the
requested funding should not be offset with rescissions. However, recognizing
that the House Committee has determined that offsets are to be included in the
bill, the Administration has concerns with several of the specific offsets
identified in the House Committee bill, which are discussed below. In
addition, the Administration objects to certain language provisions, described
below.
In the April 23, 1997 letter to the House Appropriations Committee providing
the Administration's views on the draft Committee bill, OMB Director Raines
described the Administration's concerns with a number of provisions in the
Committee bill and urged that the bill be kept free of extraneous provisions.
While the Committee bill continues to include a number of objectionable
provisions, the Committee addressed several of the Administration's concerns
and is free of provisions that would threaten approval of the bill.
Regrettably, the rule makes in order an amendment, that if approved, would
result in the President vetoing the bill.
"Automatic" Continuing Resolution
It is the Administration's understanding that an amendment will be offered
that would create an automatic continuing resolution for FY 1998 based on the
McCain-Hutchison language. While the goal of ensuring that the Government does
not shut down again in the absence of enacted appropriations is a worthy one,
such a provision is clearly extraneous to this emergency disaster relief
legislation. The President has indicated that he would veto the bill if such a
provision were included in it.
WIC
The President's budget requests a $100 million FY 1997 supplemental for WIC to
maintain the FY 1996 year-end participation level of 7.4 million. Our most
recent information from States suggests that a minimum of $76 million in new
budget authority is necessary to maintain the FY 1996 year-end participation
level. The funding level proposed by the House Committee would result in State
agencies having to cut participation by 150,000 to 200,000 low-income women,
infants, and children by year's end. The Administration remains firmly
committed to fully funding the WIC program at a participation level of 7.5
million persons in FY 1998 and strongly supports the bipartisan amendment to
provide the full $76 million this year.
Reductions to FEMA Disaster Relief and Other Non-Defense Programs
The Administration would oppose the amendment made in order in the rule which
would eliminate $2.4 billion of FEMA Disaster Relief funds and require the
President to reduce non-defense discretionary spending by $3.6 billion
(-1.5%). Enactment of such a reduction two-thirds of the way through the
fiscal year would result in reductions of nearly 5% in the final four months of
the fiscal year.
Contingent Emergency Fund
On April 23rd, the President requested $300 million for funding additional
emergency expenses arising from the consequences of the devastating flooding in
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The President requested that $200
million of this amount be provided to the Unanticipated Needs account within
Funds Appropriated to the President. The Administration appreciates the quick
action of the House Committee in providing funding. However, in rejecting the
Administration's proposal to provide the $200 million as a contingency fund in
the Unanticipated Needs account, the Committee has failed to provide the
flexibility that is essential for the President to respond appropriately to a
variety of funding requirements that continue to emerge from the unfolding
disaster. We urge the House to adopt the Administration's proposal, which
recognizes the substantial uncertainty surrounding the Upper Midwest's enormous
needs.
Community Development Block Grant Program
The Administration encourages the House to provide requested supplemental
funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. These funds
would enable CDBG to repeat its past successes of working in concert with FEMA
and other agencies to help victims of disasters rebuild their lives and their
homes. The complementary programs of CDBG, FEMA, and SBA hastened the recovery
from the 1993 Midwest floods and many other disasters. CDBG programs serve
different purposes than SBA and FEMA programs.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and OMB will work together to
establish administrative procedures ensuring that CDBG funds are used to
redevelop the affected communities to be viable and disaster-resistant, in a
manner that complements other relief and recovery spending. For example, the
additional funds could be used to buy out properties as part of a relocation
effort and/or elevate structures out of the flood hazard; to relocate
lower-income families from flood plains; and, to provide grants or loans to
businesses and families who lack the income, savings, or credit history to
qualify for an SBA loan.
Endangered Species Act
The Administration opposes the inclusion in the bill of a waiver of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Current law already allows Federal agencies to
implement effective emergency procedures in order to accommodate the ESA during
emergency responses to floods, and these procedures are routinely used and have
been used during the recent flood events. While the Administration believes
that the February 1997 policy statement issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service
adequately addresses emergency situations affected by flooding and that
additional legislation is unnecessary, we conclude that the language in the
House Bill, as revised in the version of the bill reported by the House
Appropriations Committee, is acceptable because it is consistent with that polic
y and will provide essential flood protection to the American people while
maintaining the capability to protect endangered species.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
The Administration objects to language that would restrict CRP sign-ups in FY
1997 to 14 million acres. This action would deny willing landowners the
opportunity to enroll land for which the environmental benefits exceed their
agricultural production value. In light of the 25 million acres recently
offered for CRP enrollment, the provision would at best delay the ability to
enroll the optimum number of acres. This provision is also misplaced in this
bill because it would not result in any FY 1997 savings. Federal payments on
FY 1997-enrolled CRP acres would not begin until FY 1998.
Assisted Housing
The President's FY 1998 Budget requests that Congress appropriate funds
sufficient to renew all expiring housing assistance contracts in FY 1998 and
all future years. The Administration does not object to funding FEMA's
Disaster Relief program through the rescission of $3.8 billion of recaptured
excess reserves in HUD's assisted housing program, provided that the Congress
is committed to approving sufficient resources to renew all expiring housing
assistance contracts in FY 1998 and future years.
Concerns with Certain Offsets
The Dual Use Applications Program helps to develop and incorporate
technologies used and tested by the cost-conscious commercial sector into
military systems. By adopting these dual-use technologies, the Department will
be able to take advantage of cost savings that flow from the production
efficiencies of larger-scale commercial manufacturing lines. Reducing funding
for this program would result in higher costs for future defense systems. This
is an Administration priority, and the Administration strongly opposes the
rescission contained in the Committee bill.
The Administration strongly objects to rescinding $1 million of unobligated
balances from the Ounce of Prevention Council. Rescission of these funds,
which represent roughly one-third of the Council's total funding, would
substantially reduce the work of the Council in coordinating crime prevention
efforts at the Federal level and assisting the communities to make their
neighborhoods safer. The Council is in the process of awarding $1.8 million
for youth substance use prevention grants and evaluating its existing grant
programs. The Council has received over 300 applications from communities and
community-based organizations from all across the country for these grants.
The Administration strongly objects to the House Committee action that would
limit FY 1997 spending from the Fund for Rural America to $80 million,
representing a $20 million, or 20 percent, reduction. The Fund's creation in
the 1996 Farm Bill was a significant factor in the President's decision to sign
that legislation because of its mandate to aid farmers, ranchers, and rural
residents in their transition to reliance on a market economy. This provision
would likely result in an over 40 percent reduction in the agricultural
research portion of the Fund's activities this year, significantly reducing
programs that would enhance needed information and technological assistance to
rural areas.
Restoring Benefits for Certain Legalized Aliens
The Administration has proposed legislation to restore SSI and Medicaid
benefits for disabled legal immigrants and children of legal immigrants. To
ensure that benefits for needy legal immigrants are not abruptly curtailed, the
Administration would strongly support a simple extension of benefits through
the end of the fiscal year to all legal immigrants currently receiving SSI.
This approach would ensure that the Congress has sufficient time to enact the
components of the Administration's legislative proposals, consistent with the
recent bipartisan budget agreement, and that SSA has sufficient time to
implement the legislation. The Administration supports the amendment made in
order in the rule.
Federal Election Commission
The Administration appreciates the provision of $1.7 million in additional
funding for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in the House Committee
version of the bill and would oppose the elimination of these funds. The
Administration encourages the House to remove the restrictions on these funds
that would require their expenditure on automated data processing systems
(ADP). The Administration requested these funds for the express purpose of
supporting additional staff and related costs for investigations and audits
pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act. While additional ADP costs are
a component of these investigations, they are not the key purpose of the
request.
Supplementals Not Approved
The Administration has requested a $22.8 million emergency supplemental
appropriation for NOAA to fund both hatchery repair and fishery habitat
restoration. We are disappointed with the House Committee's view that NOAA's
proposed fishery habitat restoration activities are not directly connected to
disaster assistance and that only funding for hatchery repair is proposed. The
flooding in the Northwest has resulted in direct damage to important fishery
habitat. NOAA's proposed habitat restoration activities are intended to
address this damage and to mitigate the impact of damage from future floods.
Supplemental funding of $6.25 million is needed to restore funding for the
Nutrition, Education, and Training program of the Department of Agriculture.
This funding was unintentionally eliminated when permanent mandatory funds for
the program were deleted after Congress had already passed the FY 1997
appropriations act. These funds help to provide basic nutrition education to
teachers, food service workers, parents, and children.
Other Issues
- Brookhaven National Laboratory. On April 23rd, the President
proposed $19.7 million for the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National
Laboratory for activities relating to remediation of groundwater
contamination. Appropriate offsets were included in the proposal. The
Administration encourages the House to support this proposal.
- Devils Lake. The Administration strongly urges the House to include
the requested authorization language and construction funding for an emergency
outlet at Devils Lake, North Dakota. With the lake at unprecedented levels and
having the potential to cause high additional damages, an accelerated emergency
process is necessary to reduce the risks of potential flood damages.
- Restrictions on Navy Financial Management. The Administration
strongly objects to section 2105 of the House Committee bill, which would place
extreme restrictions on the conduct of the Navy's financial management. This
provision takes the unprecedented step of requiring congressional approval for
the hiring of civil service employees within the Department of the Navy, a
clear infringement on the Executive Branch's authority to manage its
employees. In addition, the provision would require the Navy to submit all
reprogrammings for prior approval by the Appropriations Committees, regardless
of dollar value. The length of time required to submit such documents and
obtain approval would impose an undue burden on the Navy and prevent efficient
management of its programs and resources. Further, this provision would
condition the President's authority -- and the authority of certain agency
officials -- to use funds appropriated by this Act on the approval of
Congressional committees. The Administration would interpret such provisions
to require notification only, since any other interpretation of such provisos
would contradict the Supreme Court Ruling in INS vs. Chadha.
- River Basin Appointments. The Administration is pleased that the
House Committee has included language to allow continued Federal participation
on the Susquehanna and Delaware River Basin Commissions. However, the
Administration opposes the requirement that the Federal representatives to
these Commissions be military officers of the Corps of Engineers. This
requirement is overly prescriptive. The President should have the discretion,
as he does under the existing compacts, to choose the Federal representatives
on these Commissions.
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