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The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 1842 and, if it were presented to the
President, the President's senior advisors would recommend that he veto the
bill. H.R. 1842 would terminate the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI)
by prohibiting Federal agencies from using any funds to carry out the
initiative.
The AHRI is an important Presidential initiative that supports community-led
efforts to revitalize local economies, protect natural resources, and preserve
historic and cultural resources. The initiative would identify ten
community-nominated rivers to be designated as American Heritage Rivers in
1998. Those rivers would receive focused Federal support to facilitate access
to Executive branch agencies and existing programs. The designated rivers
would serve as models of the most innovative, successful, and sustainable
approaches to river restoration and community revitalization across the United
States. The AHRI seeks to create a government that works better and costs less
by focusing on customer service, developing partnerships, and delegating power
to State and local governments. The AHRI is voluntary and locally driven. It
will create no new regulatory requirements nor will it affect the decision
making processes of State, tribal, or local governments.
Rivers are an integral part of our Nation's history and provide avenues for
trade, recreation, habitat for wildlife, routes for exploration, and
opportunities for commerce, agriculture, and forestry. The AHRI will use
existing Federal resources more effectively to assist community revitalization
of waterfronts by enhancing the historic, cultural, recreational, touristic,
agricultural, economic, public health, and environmental values of our
Nation's rivers.
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