Office of the Press Secretary
(Palo Alto, California)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release May 1, 1998
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Today I have signed into law H.R. 3579, the FY "1998 Supplemental
Appropriations and Rescissions Act." This emergency supplemental
legislation makes urgently needed funds available for victims of natural
disasters and for our troops in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. While it
is disappointing that the Congress has failed to meet the Nation's
financial responsibilities by not approving funds for the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations (U.N.), the Congress has
provided funds that I requested for victims of natural disasters at home
and for our military troops overseas.
I am pleased that this legislation will enable us to meet our
commitment to our troops in Bosnia and the Gulf, to support readiness
worldwide, and to aid victims of natural disasters at home. This Act
provides more than $2 billion for these purposes.
The Act also includes $2.4 billion for disaster relief programs for
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for emergency highway repair,
for repairing levees and other flood control systems, for repairing
national wildlife refuges and national park property, and for State and
private forestry, farm loans, dairy, and other agricultural assistance.
I am also pleased that the Congress has decided to omit a number of
extraneous and objectionable items in this legislation, such as
provisions to increase the number of assault weapons on the street, to
subsidize banks excessively for making student loans without fully
offsetting the costs, and to undermine our ability to provide food
stamps to certain legal immigrants.
It is very troubling, however, that the Congress placed politics
above sound science by insisting on two measures that would diminish our
public lands. One of these provisions permits the building of a
six-lane commuter highway near Albuquerque, New Mexico, through the
Petroglyph National Monument. This is a dangerous departure from the
practice of managing National Parks based on sound science and resource
protection. Another objectionable section is intended to interfere with
the Forest Service's ability to manage the National Forests. This rider
is directed at a proposed regulation that would temporarily suspend road
construction in roadless areas of our National Forests. It imposes
difficult and burdensome paperwork and potentially costly compensation
requirements on the Forest Service. In addition, I am very concerned
about the limitations placed on the Government's ability to ensure a
fair return for oil and gas resources extracted from Federal lands. My
Administration will oppose any efforts to make these limitations
permanent.
I am deeply disappointed that this Act extends the comment period
and delays the effective date of the "Organ Procurement and
Transplantation Network" final rule, allowing an unfair organ allocation
system to continue. This inequitable system violates the intent of the
National Organ Transplant Act, which requires a national, equitable
system, free of geographic bias, as well as the American Medical
Association's Code of Medical Ethics, which prohibits the distribution
of organs on the basis of geographic conditions. The final rule would
ensure that organs are allocated to the sickest candidates first.
It is also regrettable that in order to pay for the emergency
funding for victims of natural disasters, this legislation demands
unnecessary and unwarranted cuts in existing housing programs for
low-income Americans. In response to my Administration's strong
objections, the Congress pledged to restore this funding fully in the
next fiscal year. I call upon the Congress to honor that promise, and
to do so without draining resources from any of the housing programs
contained in my budget for FY 1999. Instead of cutting housing
assistance to low-income Americans, the Congress should provide funding
for the 100,000 new housing vouchers proposed in my FY 1999 Budget.
It is imperative that the Congress act quickly so that we may meet
our commitment to the IMF and the U.N. Delay or failure to meet the
full IMF requests could undermine our capacity to deal with threats to
world economic stability and could leave us unable to protect American
workers, farmers, and businesses in the event of an escalation or spread
of the Asian financial crisis or a new crisis. In addition, failure to
provide the full request for U.N. arrears could jeopardize our chance to
affect negotiations on lowering U.S. dues and would undermine U.S.
leadership in the international community. I call on the Congress to
pass new legislation quickly, with workable terms, so that the United
States is able to maintain its position as a world leader and to meet
its obligations to the IMF and the U.N.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 1, 1998.
# # #
** uhuh **
The President said he is reducing taxes.
uhuh.
Congress says they are balancing the budget.
uhuh. Sez who?
Smile
and Force Congress to
Kick the Debt & Taxes Habit with
$$ Money System Honesty for Us People. $$
We demand the whole truth with an honest viewpoint.
Don't send money. Call Jo(e) Congress and send letters.
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