THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release December 22, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I have signed into law H.R. 4577, the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
FY 2001. I am pleased that my Administration and the Congress were able to
reach agreement on the remaining appropriations bills and produce a
hard-won victory for the American people.
The legislation reflects my Administration's longstanding commitment
to education, worker training and assistance, and medical research, and
continued opposition to unrelated anti-environmental riders, which have no
place in these appropriation bills. As a result of extensive
negotia-tions, my Administration was able to secure significant funding
increases for many programs that represent significant victories for the
American people, including teacher training, class size reduction, worker
protection programs, and mental health programs.
I am very pleased that the legislation creates a new $1.2 billion
school renovation grant program, targeted to high-need districts. It
provides $0.9 billion for urgent school repairs, including $75 million for
public schools with high concentrations of Native American students, $0.3
billion for special education and technology-related activities, and $25
million for a demonstration program to assist charter schools in obtaining
non-Federal financing for their infra-structure needs. The initiative will
enable schools to undertake much-needed renovation, such as repairs to
roofs, heating and cooling systems, and electrical wiring.
The bill also provides $1.6 billion for the third installment of my
plan to help reduce class size in the early grades. While the Republican
proposal did not guarantee funding for the teachers already hired and would
have instead allowed Class Size dollars to be used for virtually any
activity, I am pleased that the bill that I have signed provides $1.6
billion for Class Size Reduction, enough to support the over 29,000
teachers already hired, plus an additional 8,000 teachers.
I am also pleased that the budget agreement provides $567 million for
my Teaching to High Standards plan to improve teacher preparation and help
train teachers to meet higher standards. This funding level is $194
million more than last year's level. The bill includes $485 million for
Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants, providing training for as
many as 2.3 million teachers and strengthening accountability by requiring
that States and districts use new Eisenhower funds to reduce the number of
uncertified teachers in their schools. The bill also provides $44 million
for new national-level activities, including initiatives to train early
childhood educators and measures to recruit talented mid-career
professionals into teaching.
The legislation provides $846 million for 21st Century Community
Learning Centers to support after school and summer school programs that
make extended learning opportunities available for students and offer a
safe place for "latch-key" children to learn during the after-school hours.
At this funding level, nearly 650,000 more students than last year will
have access to these services.
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I am very pleased that Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies are
funded at $8.4 billion, an increase of $0.4 billion more than last year, to
continue efforts to help disadvantaged students catch up with their peers.
In addition, the bill supports my Accountability Fund proposal by providing
$225 million, an increase of $91 million, to help States turn around the
lowest-performing schools and hold schools accountable for results. This
funding level will provide help to 4,500 schools, an increase of 1,800 over
last year.
I am pleased that the bill provides an increase in funding to $286
million for the Reading Excellence Initiative. This program supports
literacy services for children, including local reading programs, teacher
training, tutoring programs, and family literacy services. With this
funding, all the remaining States and territories will be able to receive
grants, bringing the number of children served to 3.1 million.
I am pleased that the budget agreement provides $872 million for
educational technology that will be used to fund programs that train an
additional 110,000 teachers to effectively use modern technology in the
classroom. The bill also provides a $32 million increase for Community
Technology Centers, creating up to 650 centers that provide access to
computers and Informa-tion Age tools to children and adults that cannot
afford them at home.
The bill includes $125 million for the Small, Safe and Successful High
Schools program, $80 million above the FY 2000 enacted level. The
additional funds will help over 1,000 of the Nation's high schools
implement smaller, more intimate learning environments through reforms like
schools-within-schools and career academies.
I strongly support the $190 million provided in the legislation for
the Charter Schools program. The additional funds will support the startup
of nearly 500 new or redesigned schools that offer enhanced public school
choice and the freedom to pursue innovative educational programs. At the
beginning of my Administration, there was only one charter school. With
this increase, the Charter School program will have supported over 2,800
charter schools.
I also support the $644 million provided in the bill for Safe and Drug
Free Schools and Communities programs. Within this amount, the bill
contains $35 million to expand the Safe Schools/Healthy Students
initiative; $50 million for the middle school Coordinator Initiative; and
$10 million for Project School Emergency Response to Violence, to provide
emergency assistance, such as crisis counseling and increased security, to
school districts that experience a violent or traumatic crisis.
I strongly support the $7.4 billion for Special Education programs, an
increase of $1.4 billion over the FY 2000 enacted level. Included in this
total is $6.3 billion for Special Education State Grants. The bill also
provides my requested increase for Grants for Infants and Families, for a
total of $384 million.
I am very pleased that the bill contains a major increase in funding
for Pell Grants. The bill provides $8.8 billion to support a $3,750
maximum award.
The bill includes $295 million for GEAR-UP. Compared to last year,
this funding level provides needed college preparation services to nearly
500,000 more low-income students. Equally important is the funding
provided in the bill for TRIO, which receives $730 million and will help
765,000 disadvantaged students attend and complete college.
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I am pleased that the Congress fully funded my $1 billion request for
Federal Work-Study. This level continues to enable one million students to
work their way through college.
I am pleased that the legislation provides over $1 billion in
increases to programs included in my Administration's Hispanic Education
Action Plan (HEAP). These programs help to improve overall the educational
outcomes of Latino and limited English proficient students by increasing
their levels of academic achievement, high school graduation,
post-secondary participa-tion, and opportunities for lifelong learning.
I commend the Congress for including $70 million for my English
Language/Civics Initiative, nearly triple last year's funding. This
program helps States and communities provide recent immigrants and other
limited English proficient individuals with expanded access to quality
English-language instruction linked to civics education, including
understanding the U.S. Government and public education systems, the
workplace, and other key institutions of American life. Funding for this
initiative in FY 2001 will provide services for almost 250,000 individuals.
The bill includes $306 million for Education Research, Statistics, and
Assessment. The funds will provide additional support for the Interagency
Educational Research Initiative, the new Birth Cohort of the Early
Childhood Longitudinal Study, and new grants for the Initiative on Language
Minority Students, a program that seeks better ways to educate children
whose first language is not English.
The bill provides $11.9 billion in discretionary funds for the
Department of Labor (DOL), a $0.7 billion increase above the FY 2000
enacted level. The funding provided supports my major proposals for job
training, worker protection programs, and grants for working with
developing countries to eliminate abusive child labor.
I am pleased that the legislation provides $1.6 billion for dislocated
worker assistance. The program will provide training and re-employment
services to 883,000 dislocated workers. Since FY 1993, my Administration
has succeeded in almost tripling funding for, and participation in,
programs that help dislocated workers return to work. In addition, the
bill includes $35 million of the $50 million I requested to provide
job-finding assistance to 156,000 unemployment insurance claimants to speed
their reentry into the workforce.
The bill provides nearly my full request to expand services to job
seekers at One-Stop centers as recently authorized in the bipartisan
Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The bill funds $150 million of the $154
million requested to provide improved access to One-Stops as well as
continued support for electronic labor exchange and labor market
information. The enrolled bill also fully funds my $20 million request for
work incentive grants to help integrate employment services for persons
with disabili-ties into the mainstream One-Stop system.
The bill provides $55 million for the Responsible Reintegration of
Youth Offenders (RRYO) initiative. RRYO will bring roughly 10,300 young
ex-offenders into the workplace
through job training, placement, and support services, and by creating new
partnerships between the criminal justice system and the WIA system. In
addition, the enrolled bill includes $20 million to enable DOL to
contribute to the Safe
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Schools/Healthy Students joint initiative with the Departments of Justice,
Education, and Health and Human Services that will expand efforts to
address out-of-school youth.
The enrolled bill also provides additional funding for other youth job
training programs. Specifically the bill includes $275 million for the
Youth Opportunity Grants program to finance the third year of five-year
competitive grants that provide education, training and support services to
63,000 youth in Empowerment Zones/Empowerment Communities (EZ/ECs). In
addition, the bill provides $1.1 billion for the Youth Activities Formula
Grants to provide training and employ-ment opportunities to an estimated
660,000 youth in FY 2001.
I am disappointed that the Congress has not provided $255 million as
requested for the Fathers Work/Families Win initiative. As a result,
80,000 non-custodial and low-income parents will not get the additional
support to get a job or upgrade their skills.
The bill provides $148 million for the Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, an increase of $78 million, or 112 percent, above last year's
level. The legislation provides a total of $82 million for efforts to
address international child labor issues. I am pleased that my $45 million
request to expand the work of the International Labor Organization's
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor was fully funded
and that the bill provides $37 million to support my new bilateral
assistance initiative to improve access to basic education in developing
countries.
The legislation also provides $23 million to establish the Office of
Disability Policy, Evaluation and Technical Assistance. Headed by a new
Assistant Secretary, this office will provide leadership in helping people
with disabilities enter, re-enter,
and remain in the workforce. In addition, I am pleased that the bill
includes $60 million to administer the Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation Program to help workers who have developed illnesses
associated with nuclear weapons production and testing.
The bill provides the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
with $49.9 billion in funding, $7.1 billion above the FY 2000 level.
I commend the Congress for fully funding my request of $817 million
for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, bringing the total level of
the block grant to $2 billion in FY 2001 and allowing nearly 150,000
additional children to be served. The bill also authorizes and provides
$20 million for the Early Learning Opportunities Act, which is similar to
my Early Learning Fund proposal. Early Learning funds may be used to
improve child care quality and promote school readiness through activities
such as training parents to facilitate cog-nitive development and offering
training, recruitment, and retention incentives for child care
professionals.
The enrolled bill provides the largest increase for Head Start in the
program's history. An increase of $93 million over the FY 2000 enacted
level will bring total program funding to $6.2 billion, adding
approximately 60,000 new slots for low-income children and continuing on
the path to serve one million kids by FY 2002.
I am pleased that the enrolled bill fully funds the Family Caregivers
program established in the recently reauthorized Older Americans Act at
$125 million. The program will provide information, respite care, and
other support services to 250,000 families caring for loved ones who are
ill or disabled.
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The enrolled bill increases Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
funds by $300 million for total non-emergency program funding of $1.4
billion. These additional funds will help low-income families cope with
continued high heating fuel prices. The bill also provides $300 million in
contingent emergency funds.
I strongly support the increase of $2.5 billion, or 14 percent, over
the FY 2000 level provided to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for
biomedical research. The $20.3 billion will enable NIH to continue to
pursue new methods for diagnosing, treating, and curing diseases such as
cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and HIV/AIDS. The bill also provides $130
million for the newly-established Center for Research on Minority Health
and Health Disparities, which will coordinate and support NIH?s
trans-Institute, billion dollar research portfolio on minority health.
The bill provides $3.9 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. The increased funds will support: $163 million for domestic
and global HIV/AIDS prevention efforts; $78 million to improve childhood
immunizations; $67 million for infectious disease activities; $37 million
for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and $18
million for breast and cervical cancer screening activities.
I am pleased that this legislation provides $357 million for the
Congressional Black Caucus HIV/AIDS initiative, an increase of $105 million
above the FY 2000 enacted level of $252 million. This will support an
expanded scope of HIV/AIDS prevention, education, treatment, and outreach
activities for minority community-based organizations working to slow the
spread of HIV/AIDS in their communities.
I support the $5.6 billion provided to the Health Resources and
Services Administration, $1 billion above the FY 2000 enacted level and
$890 million above the FY 2001 request. Increases over the FY 2000 level
include: $100 million to continue funding demonstration projects that
address health care access for the uninsured; $15 million for Family
Planning; $213 million for Ryan White activities; $150 million for
Community Health Centers; and, $195 million for Children's Hospitals
Graduate Medical Education. In addition, I am pleased that the bill
provides $550 million for the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act so that
additional relief payments may be made to hemophiliacs who contracted
HIV/AIDS, and their families.
The bill provides $2.9 billion for Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services. Mental Health increases over the FY 2000 enacted level total
$151 million, including $64 million for the Mental Health Block Grant, and
$25 million in new targeted grants for early intervention and prevention,
as well as local capacity expansion. Substance abuse increases over the FY
2000 level total $135 million, including $65 million for the Substance
Abuse Block Grant, $42 million for substance abuse treatment grants and $28
million for substance abuse prevention grants.
The bill invests $50 million in Real Choice Systems Change Grants to
help States develop comprehensive plans to care for persons with
disabilities in the most appropriate setting. These funds would be used to
do the following: conduct intensive outreach efforts to educate people
with disabilities about the home and community-based options currently
available to them; streamline application and eligibility processes for
home- and
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community-based care services; and modify State policy that results in the
unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities.
The bill includes $79 million for my Nursing Home Initiative, a $32
million, or 68 percent, increase over the FY 2000 enacted level. This
funding provides $66 million for more rigorous inspections of nursing
facilities and improved Federal oversight of nursing home quality, and
grants to the States to develop ways for the disabled to move into
community-based care rather than nursing homes. Congress also provided
$13.5 million for HHS' Office of the General Counsel and Departmental
Appeals Board to address the backlog of nursing home appeals and handle
increased legal advice, litigation support, and hearings on nursing home
enforcement cases.
The bill provides a program level of $270 million to the Agency for
Health Care Policy and Research, $70 million over the FY 2000 level, to
expand research on the costs, uses, and quality of health care, and to
enhance the Medical Expenditures Panel Surveys. This includes $50 million
for research on patient safety and the reduction of medical errors and $10
million for research on health care worker safety.
I support the $326 million to expand HHS' bioterrorism initiative.
Congress fully funded my request of $52 million for CDC's national
pharmaceutical stockpile and provided $168 million for CDC to expand
national, State, and local epidemiologic laboratories, surveillance
capacity for biological agents, strategic planning, and capabilities to
screen toxicants.
The bill provides the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA's)
program management with a total program level of $2.3 billion, $173
million, or eight percent, over the FY 2000 enacted level. This funding
will support HCFA's efforts to strengthen its oversight of Medicare
contractors and efforts to ensure the quality and safety of nursing homes,
non-accredited hospitals and other facilities. Funding is included for the
National Medicare Education Program that educates beneficiaries, enabling
them to make informed health decisions on topics like managed care,
long-term care and supplemental insurance.
I am pleased that bill language was modified to allow the Secretary of
Commerce to issue regulations in January that will protect the endangered
Steller sea lion, not undermine the Endangered Species Act, and allow an
appropriate level of fishing to resume in the affected Alaska fisheries.
In addition, the bill provides $50 million for research into the recovery
of Steller sea lions, and for economic assistance to Alaskan fishing
communities that may experience economic impacts from the new regulations.
The bill sustains my Administration's longstanding commitment to protect
the Nation's environmental laws from inappropriate and unrelated
anti-environmental riders.
I am pleased that the bill does not include language prohibiting the
promulgation of the Department of Labor's ergonomics standard. The
standard, which was promulgated last month, seeks to prevent work-related
injuries arising from risk factors such as repetitive motion or
overexertion.
The bill extends the current availability period for Welfare-to-Work
grant funds for an additional two years, allowing grantees the chance to
take advantage of eligibility changes made in the FY 2000 Appropriations
Act.
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I am also pleased that the bill includes a provision to compensate
beneficiaries of Federal programs who experienced a shortfall in their
benefit payments as a result of the understatement of the Consumer Price
Index that occurred in 1999. The bill provides that any compensation
payments will be disregarded as income for purposes of means-tested
programs. The bill also provides that the corrected CPI series for 1999 be
taken into account for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code, effective for
taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000.
I am very pleased that the legislation does not include language that
would have restricted public health funds for emergency contraception
health services in primary and secondary schools. I was strongly opposed
to this language because decisions about what kinds of services should be
provided in school settings are more appropriately left to local
decision-makers, who can take into consideration their community's health
needs.
I am very disappointed that Congress has mandated that all schools and
libraries receiving Federal educational technology funds implement Internet
filtering technology. Under the provisions of this bill, noncompliant
schools and libraries will be ineligible for E-rate discounts and other
Federal technology funds. My Administration has actively promoted the
protection of children from harmful materials on the Internet, and I have
been a strong supporter of locally driven efforts to make our schools and
libraries safe portals for students to explore the World Wide Web. Because
of the importance of protecting children from inappropriate material
online, I believe that local development and implementation of an
Internet-acceptable use plan is a more effective, appropriate solution than
mandatory filtering for ensuring comprehensive protection while meeting the
diverse needs of local schools and libraries. Although I am pleased that
the required technological protection measures will be included as part of
a locally developed policy, I would have preferred to allow communities
more flexibility in developing appropriate policies by not imposing this
potentially expensive and restrictive requirement. I am also concerned
that because current technology may not be able to differentiate between
harmful and non-harmful expression with precision, these provisions may
have the effect of limiting access to valuable information in a manner that
offends our tradition of freedom of speech. We will seek to implement the
policy in a way that maximizes local flexibility and minimizes local
burdens within the framework of the statute.-
The bill includes a provision making clear that religious
organizations may qualify for substance abuse prevention and treatment
grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) 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
bill 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.
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I am also pleased that, unlike earlier versions of the bill, the final
bill excludes or modifies many provisions that would have changed our
environmental protection and natural resource conservation laws without
adequate public and congressional scrutiny. In particular, I am satisfied
that a provision restricting the regulation of snowmobile use in national
parks has been sufficiently modified to allow completion of a pending rule
for Yellowstone National Park and two adjacent parks, so long as that rule
does not reduce snowmobile use during the first two winter seasons.
The bill fully funds my IRS modernization and reform program for FY
2001. However, Congress denied a requested FY 2002 advance appropriation
of $422 million for IRS technology modernization. In addition, the bill
provides only $141 million of my $225 million request for enhanced staffing
to improve tax compliance and customer service activities.
I am pleased that the bill includes $185 million for the Office of
National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, as
well as $207 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.
I am very disappointed that the bill continues objectionable current
law provisions that restrict Federal Employees Health Benefit Program
(FEHBP) coverage for abortions except in the cases where the life of the
mother is endangered or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. The
bill continues current law requirements that health plans participating in
the FEHBP that provide prescription drug coverage must also provide
prescription contraceptive coverage.
I am pleased that the bill provides funding and authority for priority
agricultural conservation programs, including $26 million for the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
and authority to spend existing funds on the Farmland Protection Program.
These programs will improve our environment and protect our Nation's open
spaces while boosting farm income.
There are several authorization bills included in H.R. 4577, including
the Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) Benefits Improvement and Protection Act. This legislation provides
States with increased allotments aimed at assisting hospitals serving
significant numbers of low-income and uninsured patients; makes it easier
for States to enroll uninsured children in Medicaid and SCHIP by permitting
enrollment through schools, child support enforcement agencies, homeless
shelters, program eligibility offices, and certain other sites; increases
Medicaid reimbursements for federally qualified
health centers and rural health centers; and directs HHS to issue the final
Medicaid upper payment limit rule by December 31, 2000. The bill provides
an additional $70 million in FYs 2001 and 2002 and $100 million in FY 2003
for the special diabetes programs at the National Institutes of Health, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Indian Health Service.
The legislation also includes a two-year extension of the medical
savings accounts program, which allows employers to make tax exempt
contributions on behalf of employees to cover medical expenses.
I am disappointed that the bill fails to include my proposals to
expand coverage to uninsured families; restore Medicaid and SCHIP benefits
to immigrant pregnant women, children, and disabled individuals; and
improve equity in Medicaid by allowing States to serve individuals in their
homes and communities rather than in nursing homes. I am
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also disappointed that the bill does not include my proposal to bring
payment rates for hospital services in Puerto Rico more in line with the
rates that apply elsewhere in the country.
H.R. 4577 includes tax incentives and programs to help low-income
people in distressed communities by encouraging private sector partners to
increase investment and growth in low-income communities.
I am pleased that the bill includes the creation of a New Market tax
incentive for investors that invest in equity investments in qualified
low-income communities; an increase in the low-income housing volume caps
for tax-exempt private activity bonds; and an expansion of eligibility for
the brownfields tax incentive to cover all contaminated sites certified by
a State, other than sites on the Superfund National Priorities List, and an
extension through 2003.
The bill amends the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to provide regulatory
relief for investors and authorize appropriations of such sums as are
necessary to carry out the CEA for FYs 2001-2005. The bill would
deregulate most over-the-counter derivatives (financial instruments whose
value depends on the value or change in value of an underlying security,
commodity, or asset) traded electronically between sophisticated entities
such as banks, broker/dealers, and high-net-worth individuals.
I support the reauthorization of a number of Small Business
Administration programs in the bill, including my proposal to increase the
number of small loans below $150,000, reduce borrower fees, and improve
technical assistance programs available to microentrepreneurs. The bill
would also extend the authority for a number of expiring programs such as
the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Disadvantaged Business
programs. Finally, the bill authorizes the New Markets Venture Capital,
New Markets Technical Assistance, and BusinessLINC programs, which provide
authority for $250 million in public and private capital for rural and
urban small business investments, technical assistance, and mentoring
services for aspiring entrepreneurs. The bill also authorizes
establishment of a set-aside program for women-owned small businesses that
are classified as economically disadvantaged or in an industry in which
women owned businesses are substantially underrepresented.
I am pleased that this legislation amends immigration provisions
included in the Commerce/Justice/State Appropriations Act thereby easing
immigration restrictions on an estimated 700,000 immigrant families living
in the United States. The provisions would extend section 245(i) until
April 30, 2001, to allow aliens (and their spouses and children) who apply
for an adjustment of status or a labor certification to remain in the
United States until such petition is approved. Additionally, the
provisions would create a new, temporary non-immigrant visa for spouses and
children of spouses of legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens seeking
to enter the United States to await approval of legal permanent resident
status for themselves (the "V" visa). The provisions would also allow
certain individuals who were not granted amnesty under the Immigration
Reform and
Control Act of 1986 who are currently seeking such relief through the
courts to apply for permanent residency. While I am disappointed that the
legislation fails to eliminate the disparate treatment under our
immigration laws sought for Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Haitians,
and Liberians and does not provide any relief for deserving individuals
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affected by changes in the 1996 immigration law, it is the best compromise
that could be reached after several rounds of intense negotiations.
H.R. 4577 also includes authorization for the Delta Regional Authority
(DRA), a newly created agency that will focus $20 million for area
development and technical assistance on distressed counties in the
Mississippi Delta Region. The authorization will permit the establishment
of the DRA which will work to improve the economic status of some of our
Nation's most impoverished communities.
There are provisions in the Act that purport to condition my authority
or that of certain officers to use funds appropriated by the Act on the
approval of congressional
committees. My Administration will interpret such provisions
to require notifi-cation only, since any other interpretation would
contradict the Supreme Court ruling in INS v. Chadha.
Section 620 of the Treasury/General Government Appropriations section
of the Act prohibits the use of appropriations to pay the salary of any
Federal Government officer or employee who interferes with certain
communications between Federal employees and Members of Congress. I do not
interpret this provision to detract from my constitutional authority and
that of my appointed heads of departments to supervise and control the
operations and communications of the executive branch, including the
control of privileged and national security information.
Another provision of the Act raises Appointments Clause concerns.
Subsection 111(b) of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000 portion
of the bill provides joint
grant-making authority to the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, who is a constitutional officer, and to two other
officials, who are not. In order to avoid an Appointments Clause problem
raised by this provision, I will interpret that sub-section as giving the
Administrator the final say concerning selection of grant recipients after
consultation with the other designated officials.
Section 313 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations portion of the
Act would establish in the legislative branch a "Center for Russian
Leadership Development." The principal function of the Center would be to
administer a grant program to support visits to this country by Russian
nationals. I fully support the goals of this grant program. The
Department of Justice advises me, however, that because the program is not
administered by the executive branch, it is unconstitutional. I urge the
Congress to enact new legislation reassigning the Center to an executive
branch agency.
Several provisions of the Act also raise concerns under the
Recommendations Clause. These provisions purport to require
a Cabinet Secretary or other Administration official to make
recommendations to Congress on changes in law. To the extent that those
provisions would require Administration officials to provide Congress with
policy recommendations or draft legislation, I direct these officials to
treat any such requirements as precatory.
In addition, I hereby designate the following amounts as emergency
requirements for the Department of Defense, pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control act of
1985, as amended: $100,000,000 provided
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to the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer account and $150,000,000
provided to the Operations and Maintenance, Navy account in H.R. 5666, as
enacted by H.R. 4577.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 21, 2000.
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