Dave Obey

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. I think the Chair is absolutely right on his ruling. I want to say that out of courtesy, I did not make that motion, even though he was obviously out of order.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Utah [Mr. Orton]. (Mr. ORTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I take this time simply to respond to comments made by 3 gentleman on the other side of the aisle. First of all, with respect to the comments made by my good friend, the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis], he threatened retaliation against the President and his favorite program in this bill, AmericCorps, if the President vetoes this bill. I think that is an example of what is wrong with the mind-set on that side of the aisle these days. I recognize the Republican Party is new to power in this House, but it seems to me that if the country is to be well-served in the Republican Party's exercise of that power, that in divided government persons with responsibility on that side of the aisle need to learn how to share power, not to threaten its abuse. Second, with respect to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] who complained that the President was not involved and that he did not know that the President was going to veto the bill, I would simply say he should not be surprised. I pointed out in the conference that when meetings were held between the Senate and the House conferees on the labor- health-education programs in this conference, that the Republican subcommittee staff made it quite clear to Democrats on that subcommittee that we were not welcome to even attend the meetings. So if the gentleman from Illinois is surprised that the President vetoed the bill, he should not be surprised because he put himself in the isolation room. I have a stack of letters from the President to the committee at various times during the process laying out exactly what they wanted done. We have a letter on April 28 spelling out that if the President were presented with a bill containing objectionable provisions contained in the House version of the bill as outlined below, he would veto the bill, and he proceeded to list 29 specific problems. I do not know why the sudden surprise. With respect to the suggestion by the gentleman from Iowa that implied that the investigation of the Oklahoma bombing would somehow be delayed by the President's veto, I will simply say that is outrageously false. The Department of Justice has indicated to the committee that the Oklahoma investigation is the top priority of the department and that the extraordinary expenses related to the bombing for the FBI, U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshal's Service and the DEA are already being incurred and funded using available 1995 funds. With respect to the outrageous words just directed by the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] against the President of the United States, I would simply say that those words have damaged the gentleman from Oklahoma far more than they have damaged the President of the United States. I think I will simply let them go at that. I urge a vote against this bill in the interest of fairness and deficit reduction. The letters referred to follow: Executive Office of the President, Office of management and Budget, Washington, DC, April 28, 1995. Hon. Bob Livingston, Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The purpose of this letter is to provide the Administration's views on H.R. 1158, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Additional Disaster Assistance and Rescissions Bill, FY 1995, as passed by the House and by the Senate. The Administration is strongly opposed to the House version of the bill and believes that it would unnecessarily cut valuable, proven programs that educate our children, aid the disadvantaged, and protect our health and safety. If the President were presented a bill containing the objectionable provisions contained in the House version of the bill, as outlined below, he would veto the bill. While the Senate version of the bill is acceptable, there are a number of provisions that could be improved. We urge the conferees to consider the concerns discussed below. As the President stated at the April 26th Bipartisan Leadership meeting, he will shortly be sending to Congress a supplemental request for the costs of the Federal response to the Oklahoma City bombing. We urge the conferees to include such funding in H.R. 1158 and to present the President with a bill that he can sign so as not to delay providing these urgently needed funds. deficit reduction This Administration remains firmly committed to deficit reduction. In 1993, we worked with the Congress to enact the largest deficit reduction package in history. The Administration's economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in FY 1992--to $203 billion in FY 1994, to a projected $193 billion this year--providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. We believe that we can address the issue of deficit reduction and provide for the Middle Class Bill of Rights without putting low-income families at risk. In the FY 1996 Budget, the President has proposed significant rescissions for FY 1995 and additional program terminations in FY 1996 for numerous low-priority programs. The Administration does not believe that sound programs, especially those aimed at helping the disadvantaged, should be cut, particularly if such cuts were made to finance a tax cut for higher-income taxpayers. cutting programs for children, education, and the disadvantaged The House-passed bill would impose severe reductions on a number of high-priority programs. These reductions would have a particularly harmful effect our Nation's children and disadvantaged by cutting funding for National Service; the Summer Jobs program; Goals 2000; the Education for the Disadvantaged program; the Safe and Drug Free School Program; the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund; and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). While the Senate version of the bill represents a significant improvement over the House-passed bill with respect to funding for these programs, the Administration has concerns over any reductions to programs that assist our Nation's children and the disadvantaged. The conferees are urged to restore full funding for these programs, or, at a minimum, accept the Senate levels. jordanian debt relief The President has made clear that the provision of debt relief to Jordan can contribute to further progress toward a Middle East peace settlement. We strongly support the Senate language of H.R. 1158, which would appropriate the full $275 million requested for forgiveness of Jordan's debt to the United States. Every Administration since the creation of the State of Israel has determined that the promotion of peace in the Middle East is a vital U.S. National interest. Jordan has taken important steps for peace at great risk. Jordan and other countries in the region need concrete evidence that the United States supports those steps and that we stand by our commitments. For this reason, full debt relief is of paramount importance. We support providing as much of the $275 million of obligational authority in FY 1995 as possible. science and technology This Administration remains firmly committed to increasing the Nation's productivity and raising living standards by investing in science and technology. These investments will lead to a healthy, educated public; job creation and economic growth; world leadership in science, mathematics, and engineering; and harnessed information technology. The rescissions proposed by the House and the Senate for many science and technology programs would severely threaten the United States' standing with respect to technology advancements and competitiveness. These include programs in the Department of Commerce, such as the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the National Information Infrastructure Grants Program, and the laboratories of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and in the Department of Education, such as grants for the development and adoption of education technology. The Senate is to be commended for restoring funding for several of these programs. The conferees are urged to restore full funding for these programs or to accept the lower of the House or Senate rescission level so as not to imperil our Nation's standing on the technology frontier. striker replacement The Administration strongly opposes a provision in the House version of the bill that would prohibit the Executive Branch from using FY 1995 funds to issue, implement, administer, or enforce any Executive Federal contracts with companies that hire permanent replacements for striking employees. This provision would impinge upon the Executive Branch's ability to ensure a stable supply of quality goods and services for the government's programs. The use of, or the threat to use, permanent replacement workers destroys opportunities for cooperative and stable labor-management relations. Additional Administration concerns with the House and Senate versions of the bill are contained in the enclosure. Sincerely, Alice M. Rivlin, Director. Additional Concerns--H.R. 1158--Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Additional Disaster Assistance and Rescissions Bill, FY 1995 (as Passed by the House and the Senate) national service program The $416 million rescission proposed by the House for the Corporation for National and Community Service would virtually terminate the program. Remaining funds would provide only 4,000 of the proposed 33,000 opportunities for young adults to serve their communities as AmeriCorps members and earn an education award. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for the Learn and Serve America program, which provides support for thousands of school children to learn responsibility to their community. The Administration strongly believes that national service is a key to solving problems inside America's communities. This program has a proven track record. For example, AmeriCorps members have already reclaimed recreation areas in inner cities from gangs, and thousands of low-income and migrant children have received proper immunizations to protect their health. AmeriCorps members also have helped raise the spelling scores and reading levels of rural disadvantaged children, built homes for ``working-poor'' families, and provided disaster relief assistance to victims throughout the western part of the country. The conferees are urged to restore full funding for this important program, or, at a minimum, to provide for a rescission of not more than $105 million, the amount recommended by the Senate. summer jobs The Summer Jobs program provides meaningful work experience for hundreds of thousands of economically disadvantaged youth. These young people might otherwise not have any opportunity to learn necessary job skills and workplace behaviors during crucial formative years. The Administration is pleased that the Senate version of the bill would not reduce funding for this program for the summer of 1995, as proposed by the House. However, the Senate, like the House, would eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment program in the summer of 1996, thereby eliminating job opportunities for about 615,000 disadvantaged youth. The Administration strongly believes that improving the job prospects of at-risk youth is an important element of a broader strategy to ensure employment opportunities for all American and a vibrant, productive workforce for U.S. business. At a minimum, the conferees are urged to accept the Senate's position on this program. If funding for the summer of 1996 is not restored in this bill, then the Administration will press for restoration in the FY 1996 budget process. education programs The House version of the bill would reduce funding for Goals 2000 by over one-third ($174 million), thereby greatly diminishing support to States and communities for raising academic standards and improving their local schools. The House also proposes to cut the Education for the Disadvantaged program by $148 million, which would reduce services to educationally disadvantaged children. The House version of the bill contains a sharp reduction--$65 million-- in funding for education technology programs, which would enable fewer local communities to put state-of-the-art tools of learning in classrooms where they are most needed to prepare our students for the future. The Senate version of the bill would reduce Goals 2000 by $8 million, cut the Education for the Disadvantaged program by $8 million, and cut the Federal direct student loan program by $95 million. The conferees are urged to restore full finding for Goals 2000, Education for the Disadvantaged, and education technology programs, or, at a minimum, approve the Senate levels. safe and drug free schools The Administration opposes the House action that would rescind nearly $472 million in funding for the Safe and Drug Free School Program at the same time that every pool shows that crime and school safety are major concerns of Americans. This program is an important element of the Administration's fight against the use of drugs and stimulates by an alarmingly increasing number of our youth. The Administration is pleased that the Senate has restored funding for this important program and urges the conferees to adopt the Senate position. community development financial institutions (cdfi) fund The proposed rescission of $124 million contained in the House version of the bill would terminate the CDFI program. The Senate restored $36 million of this amount. The conferees are urged to restore full funding for the CDFI program. The conferees are urged to ensure that the program remains balanced between existing and new community development financial institutions, as provided in the current authorization law. Without full funding, in FYs 1995 and 1996 the CDFI Fund would be unable to provide: $10 million in direct loan subsidies to support over $23 million of direct loans to CDFIs; $70.5 million in grants, technical assistance, and other financial assistance to CDFIs; and $39 million in community development incentives for depository institutions. The Fund's investments in CDFIs, banks, and thrifts would leverage an estimated $500 million in investments, loans, and financial services in the country's most distressed communities. special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (wic) The House version of the bill would reduce funds available for the WIC program by $25 million. The WIC program provides nutritious supplemental foods to low-income pregnant, post- partum, and breastfeeding women, and to infants and children up to their fifth birthday. The House's action would result in 600,000 fewer food packages for women, infants, and children. Jeopardizing the heath and welfare of these mothers and children cannot be justified. The Administration commends the Senate for restoring funding for this important program and strongly urges the conferees to accept the Senate proposal. school-to-work This innovative partnership, financed equally in the Departments of Education and Labor, provides seed money to States to create state-wide School-to-Work Opportunities systems. These systems will help youth acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities, and labor market information they need to make a smooth and effective transition from school to career- oriented work or further education or training. The House proposes a $12.5 million rescission for each department--a 10-percent reduction to the FY 1995 appropriation in each agency. The Senate rescission is $2.5 million for each department. The Administration prefers the Senate level and urges the conferees to support this important program, which will help youth obtain jobs and employers gain a responsible and skilled workforce. cutting programs for the environment While an improvement over the House version of the bill, the proposed Senate rescission of $0.8 billion in funds to help municipalities comply with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements would still seriously exacerbate local financing problems. Municipalities need significant resources to comply with existing regulations and additional billions to comply with future rules needed to prevent problems such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 that killed 100 people and caused illness in another 400,000 Most affected by this rescission would be the 27 million people who get their water from a system that has violated drinking water standards. If Congress were to fail to authorize the drinking water state revolving fund program, these funds could be used without further Congressional action to address the $137 billion in wastewater construction needs. Reductions are also proposed by the House and the Senate for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) solar, renewable energy, and conservation research programs. Such reductions would threaten our national effort to implement fully, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Climate Change Action Plan. Reduction to the DOE science budget also would adversely impact climate change, human genome, and neutron research. The additional reductions to the Environmental Management program would impede progress at several of the Department's cleanup sites. fema disaster relief The Administration continues to estimate a supplemental requirement of $6.7 billion for FEMA disaster relief. Absent approval of this supplemental, FEMA estimates that under current operations, it will need to redirect funds already allocated to other disasters to meet more immediate requirements beginning in early summer. jobs corps The House version of the bill would rescind $10 million from the Job Corps program; the Senate version, $46 million. The Senate's action would halt expansion of a youth training program with a track record of improving the employment and earnings of poor youth. It would also eliminate funds to continue work on eight new Job Corps centers that were launched with previous years' appropriations. Work is underway on these eight centers, which would create 3,200 new training slots for about 4,700 severely disadvantaged youth each year. In addition, the Senate would eliminate funds to initiate four new Job Corps centers in FY 1995, which would boost capacity by another 1,600 slots. The Administration prefers the House level. job training partnership act (jtpa) youth training grants The JTPA Title II-C program provides grants to States for training, education, and employment services designed to provide low-income youth with marketable skills leading to productive, unsubsidized employment. The Congress already has rescinded $200 million from this program in P.L. 104-6-- approximately one-third of the resources available for the 1995 program year, which youth would not perceive services. Both the House and Senate have proposed rescinding more than is contained in P.L. 104- 6. Adequate funding for this program is essential to provide the Department of Labor the flexibility to work with States to re-examine the program's design and test new strategies to help youth succeed in the labor market. The Administration prefers the House level, which would reduce this program by an additional $110 million, as opposed to the $272 million reduction proposed by the Senate. one-stop career shopping This initiative provides competitive grants to States to improve employment and training services by providing a common point of access to career and labor market information, occupational skill requirements, and other information about jobs and training. The House proposes rescinding $12 million, or 10 percent of the 1995 appropriation; the Senate, $20 million. These career centers are key to successful implementation of a new consolidated and integrated workforce development system serving the needs of job seekers and employers. The Administration prefers the house level. housing assistance Both the House and the Senate versions of the bill would threaten the well-being of our Nation's most needy and vulnerable citizens and would threaten the stability of our Nation's most distressed communities. In particular, the draconian cuts targeted by the House towards programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development would deny help to 63,000 needy, low-income households, including many homeless families. The House version of the bill could also prevent another 24,000 homeless families from moving to transitional or permanent housing during this fiscal year. Hundreds of communities would lose money that they have counted on for critical community needs such as housing rehabilitation and social services for the elderly. In addition, the House's rescission of all FY 1995 funding for the Federal Government's primary rural multi-family rental housing direct loan program (section 515) would put thousands of rural residents living in existing Federal multi-family projects at risk and jeopardize the Government's investment in these projects. Many of the Department of Agriculture's projects need to be rehabilitated and, without the FY 1995 funding, would be in danger of being closed. housing opportunities for people with aids (hopwa) The HOPWA program provides housing and other services for people with AIDS. Without such assistance, some of the most vulnerable people in our society would become homeless. The Administration is opposed to the House action that would rescind $186 million from the HOPWA program, thus eliminating the entire amount appropriated for this program in FY 1995. We commend the Senate for restoring funding for this important program and urge the conferees to adopt the Senate position. violent crime and drug abuse control The Administration opposes both the House and the Senate's recommendation to rescind $65 and $29 million, respectively, for violent crime prevention and drug control initiatives. Within this overall reduction, the House would reduce by $28 million and the Senate by $17 million funding for Drug courts, which will provide drug treatment and real opportunities for rehabilitation for non-violent, first-time drug offenders. The Administration also opposes the House action that would cut $32 million from the Drug Elimination grants at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Administration prefers the overall Senate level of funding for these programs. The Administration objects to a provision in the Senate version of the bill that would delete all grant funding for the Ounce of Prevention program. This program is vital to the Administration's efforts to coordinate crime prevention programs nation-wide. The Administration prefers the House level of funding for this program. veterans medical care and construction The Senate version of the bill would rescind $100 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans medical care and construction. These cuts would eliminate $20 million in new medical equipment for veterans health care, $30 million for veterans health services, and $50 million for expanding or improving veterans medical facilities. The Administration believes these cuts are unwise and unnecessary, and would harm the veterans who need their nation's help the most. The Administration prefers the House position. timber sales The Administration is opposed to a provision contained in both the House and Senate versions of the bill that would too broadly define ``salvage timber sales'' to include sales of primarily healthy trees, supersede the otherwise applicable environmental and land management statutes, and restrict citizens' access to the courts. The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce last month announced a comprehensive plan to accelerate timber salvage sales. In addition to the measures already underway at these agencies to accelerate timber salvage sales, the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress to find appropriate, productive solutions to this pressing national problem that would not result in a return to gridlock, as may well result from the bill's provisions. In addition, the Administration is opposed to a provision contained in the Senate version of the bill that would overturn the existing environment and land management framework of the President's Forest Plan for the Pacific Northwest (``Option 9''). The carefully crafted balance in the Forest Plan allows for a sustainable timber harvest as well as environmental protection. This Plan was key to the release of a court injunction on logging in the territory of the Northern Spotted Owl and represents a finely crafted compromise that took two years to achieve. The Administration believes that it can expedite Option 9 sales without setting aside the existing land management framework. corporation for public broadcasting The Administration believes that the House's action to reduce funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) by a total of 23 percent from FY 1995 to FY 1997 is excessive and shortsighted. The Administration is committed to providing equal access to educational opportunities, particularly for young children, regardless of income or geographic location. While the Administration does not support the Senate rescission, which freezes the program at the FY 1995 level, the Administration prefers it to the House action. occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) The House version of the bill would rescind $19.6 million from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This is a 6.3 percent reduction in OSHA funding although, effectively, a 12.6 percent reduction since it comes so late in the fiscal year. The rescission would have a dramatic impact on OSHA's ability to fulfill its mission to protect workers and on the Administration's efforts to make the agency more effective. This rescission would hinder OSHA's compliance assistance programs and education and training initiatives, as well as enforcement, resulting in an estimated 6,300 additional preventable injuries. The Administration is pleased that the Senate version of the bill does not include this cut and prefers the Senate funding level. science and technology Our Nation's future economic health depends on strong public and private support for science and technology. The proposed rescission to many of the Administration's investments would jeopardize our ability to achieve sustained economic growth and competitiveness. The Administration prefers the Senate version of the bill with respect to the funding level for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) over the House version, which would reduce the number of new centers established from 36 to 10. This would result in reduced access to state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and techniques by U.S. manufacturers--a key component of the U.S. economy. The Administration objects to the House's proposed rescission of $30 million for the Commerce Department's National Information Infrastructure Grants program. The Administration believes that this program provides substantial benefits by facilitating access to information products and services by all Americans. P.L. 104-6 rescinded $15 million from this program. If the rescissions contained in the House version of the bill were adopted, the program would be cut by a total of 70 percent. The Administration also opposes the $16.5 million and $19.5 million rescission of funds proposed by the House and Senate, respectively, for laboratory research at NIST. These rescissions would have a real impact on industry's ability to compete in both emerging and mature markets and would result in the diminished competitive posture of U.S. industry. NIST laboratories develop and deliver measurement techniques and services that provide a common language needed by industry in all stages of commerce. The House's proposed rescission of $16.7 million and the Senate's proposed rescission of $12.5 million for the National Biological Service in the Department of the Interior would severely hamper the Service's ability to provide basic scientific information to the land managing bureaus within the Department, including programs in the Pacific Northwest. This rescission would force the Service to consider closing one or more of four major laboratory centers, and joint State projects underway in more than 30 States would be reduced. The Senate has proposed rescinding $42 million in funding for upgrades to the national transonic wind tunnel. These upgrades have been planned for many years and are critical to maintaining the performance of these tunnels. The wind tunnel complex has contributed to the development of almost every U.S.-developed military and civil aircraft. Failure to modernize this facility will increase the delay in critical test data. These upgrades are needed now and are unrelated to the development of a new wind tunnel facility. Social Security Administration (SSA) Automation Investment The Senate version of the bill would reduce funding for SSA computer systems by $88 million, thus elimination all second- year funding for SSA's multi-year automation investment. This reduction would lead to deterioration in service by not allowing for the equipment wears out and customer demands increase. The funds proposed for rescission are already programmed to support contract awards for quantities of computers supported by the Senate and the General Accounting Office. The Administration notes the Senate's concern about the total number of computers SSA plans to acquire over a five- year period. Under the current SSA plan, the level of funding provided in FYs 1994 and 1995 would fund the installation of less than one-third of the total number of workstations planned. The Administration believes that the Senate's concern with out-year plans would be more appropriately addressed in relation to out-year funding. Federal Buildings Fund The Administration does not support the rescission of the full $1.9 billion proposed by the Senate. Most of the projects proposed for rescission by the Senate were proposed in previous budgets. The Administration continues to support the requested funding levels for these construction and repairs and alterations projects. Rescission of funding for new construction projects may result in higher costs, if long-term needs must be met in leased space. In other cases, where leasing is not an option (i.e., courthouses and border stations), it may not be possible to meet Federal agency needs in the near term. Rescission of funds for modernization projects and other repairs and alterations could lead to the gradual deterioration of government-owned assets. Department of Transportation The Administration believes that the House proposal to eliminate all emergency relief funds is irresponsible, given the recent flooding in California and other requirements likely to arise this year. The Senate proposes to rescind only $50 million of emergency funds. The Administration also objects to the Senate proposal to eliminate $50 million in contract authority for the congestion pricing pilot program. This may restrict the Department's ability to pursue important projects in FY 1996 and FY 1997 currently being developed. While opposing the rescission of Coast Guard Operating Expenses because it undermines the recent supplemental, the Administration notes that the Senate bill cuts a smaller amount. Finally, both the House and Senate versions of the bill include across-the-board reductions in operating costs for transportation programs. These reductions are in addition to the government-wide reductions in the Senate bill. It is unfair for the Department to be hit twice by such reductions. The transportation-specific provisions should be dropped. Base Realignment and Closure The Senate version of the bill would rescind $104 million from the Base Realignment and Closure accounts. This action would slow local communities' productive reuse of base closure property by limiting funding for environmental restoration. It would also slow funding for construction of facilities at receiving bases, which could delay the move of some military units from closing bases to their new locations. Making property available for economic redevelopment is a key part of the Administration's Five Point Plan for assisting base closure communities. The Administration prefers the House level of funding. NATO Infrastructure The Senate version of the bill would rescind $69 million from the NATO Infrastructure account. This action could undermine existing NATO Infrastructure agreements and treaty commitments and frustrate U.S. efforts to increase the burdensharing contributions of our allies. All of the FY 1995 appropriations for NATO Infrastructure have been obligated or committed for specific NATO construction projects, which would have to be terminated--with potential termination penalties--if the rescissions were enacted. Furthermore, such a rescission would set a precedent for other NATO nations to withdraw their support from the NATO Infrastructure budget. The Administration prefers the House level of funding. international programs With regard to P.L. 480 food programs, the Administration strongly supports the Senate action rescinding the $142.5 million that the Administration proposed for rescission. This rescission is preferable to other rescissions in international affairs programs in the bill. The Administration prefers the Senate position regarding the funding level for foreign operations programs. The Senate's unallocated reduction of $125 million would give the Administration greater flexibility, and would do less damage to foreign policy priorities than the House's targeted rescission totaling $192 million. For international programs under the jurisdiction of the Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary Subcommittee, the Administration prefers the overall House position. The Administration opposes the Senate proposal to rescind $27.7 million for international broadcasting activities. In accordance with the Administration's international broadcasting consolidation plan and the International Broadcasting Act of 1994, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and USIA's Voice of America are in the process of significant downsizing. To accomplish the reductions and relocation of RFE/RL to Prague from Munich, over $100 million was provided in FY 1995 specifically for the one-time costs of downsizing and the move. The proposed rescission, along with the Senate's failure to provide $7.3 million that is needed to offset exchange rate losses, would seriously hamper implementation of the consolidation plan passed by Congress, which is estimated to save over $400 million by the end of FY 1997. The Administration prefers the House's position. Both the House and the Senate propose to rescind $14.6 million from the State Department's Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities, which support peacekeeping activities around the world. This action runs counter to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The U.S. strives to lead the international community in promoting peaceful resolution of regional conflicts. This rescission would undermine these efforts, weaken U.S. leadership, and exacerbate the arrearage problem. In FY 1995, the U.S. is in arrears (expected to total over $650 million) on its UN treaty obligations to pay its share of peacekeeping activities. The conferees are urged to restore these funds. S 617--Second Supplemental and Rescission Bill, Fiscal Year 1995 This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on S. 617, the Second Supplemental and Rescissions Bill, FY 1995, as reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. While the Senate Committee bill would delete or reduce several of the most objectionable rescissions contained in the House-passed bill, the Administration must strongly oppose many provisions of the Committee bill, and, therefore, finds the bill unacceptable. We believe that it unnecessarily cuts valuable, proven programs that educate our children and aid the disadvantaged, including the National Service program. The Administration also opposes reductions in programs that were established to ensure our Nation's role in the advancement of technology. Deficit Reduction The Administration remains firmly committed to deficit reduction. In 1993, the Administration worked with the Congress to enact the largest deficit reduction package in history. We cut Federal spending by $255 billion over five years, cut taxes for 40 million low- and moderate-income Americans, and made 90 percent of small businesses eligible for tax relief, while increasing income tax rates only on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of Americans. As we placed a tight ``freeze'' on overall discretionary spending at the FY 1993 levels, we shifted spending toward investments in human and physical capital that will help secure our future. This Administration's economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in FY 1992--to $203 billion in FY 1994, to a projected $193 billion this year--providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. We believe that we can address the issue of deficit reduction and provide for the Middle Class Bill of Rights without putting low-income families at risk. The Administration does not believe that sound programs, particularly those aimed at the disadvantaged and those that will ensure our Nation's preeminent standing in science and technology, should be cut. The Administration would be particularly troubled if such cuts were made to finance a tax cut for higher-income taxpayers. It is noted that the Senate Committee bill does not include language that would direct that savings generated by the bill be set aside for deficit reduction. In the FY 1996 Budget, the President has proposed significant rescissions for FY 1995 and additional program terminations in FY 1996 for numerous low-priority programs. In contrast, the Senate-reported bill would impose severe reductions on a number of high-priority programs. These cuts would have a particularly harmful effect on our Nation's children by cutting funding for National Service, Summer Jobs, WIC, Goals 2000, Head Start, Job Corps, Education for the Disadvantaged, direct student loans, and housing for families. Many of the cuts are shortsighted--reducing funding for education, for advanced technology programs that are critical to our Nation's future, and eliminating funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which would be instrumental in leveraging investments in our country's most distressed communities. Other cuts would adversely affect the health of Americans by cutting funding for safe drinking water and violent crime prevention and anti-drug programs. In its consideration of the bill, we urge the Senate to restore these cuts. FEMA Emergency Supplemental The Administration is disappointed that the Committee was chosen to include in this controversial bill the urgently needed FEMA supplemental, which is appropriately designed as an emergency for which offsets are not required under the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. This could cause an unnecessary delay in assistance to victims of natural disasters in 40 states, including victims of the Northridge earthquake. If action on the Administration's request is delayed, FEMA will, beginning in May, be unable to allocate funds to meet any new disaster requirements, unless money reserved for the 40 states currently receiving disaster assistance is cut. Additional Administration concerns with the Committee- reported bill are contained in the attachment. Additional Concerns As Reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee national service program The proposed $210 million rescission for the Corporation for National And Community, Service would reduce significantly the President's National Service program, depriving more than 15,000 young adults of the opportunity to serve their communities as an AmeriCorps member and earn an education benefit. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for the opportunity for thousands of school children to learn about responsibility to their community for the first time. This program has a proven track record. For example, AmeriCorps members have already reclaimed recreation areas in inner cities from gangs, and thousands of low-income and migrant children have received proper immunizations to protect their health. AmeriCorps members also have helped raise the spelling scores and reading levels of rural disadvantaged children, built homes for ``working-poor'' families, and provided disaster relief assistance to victims throughout the western part of the country. The Administration strongly believes that national service is a key to solving problems inside America's communities. The Senate is urged to restore full funding for this important program. community development financial institutions (cdfi) fund The proposed rescission of $124 million contained in the Committee-reported bill would terminate this program. Without this funding, in FYs 1995 and 1996 the CDFI Fund would not be able to provide: $10 million in direct loan subsidies to support over $23 million of direct loans to CDFIs; $70.5 million in grants, technical, assistance, and other financial assistance to CDFIs; and $39 million in community development incentives for depository institutions. The Fund's investments in CDFIs, banks, and thrifts would leverage an estimated $500 million in investments, loans, and financial services in the country's most distressed communities. The Senate is urged to restore this funding. women, infants, and children (wic) The Committee-reported bill would reduce funds available for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by $35 million. The WIC program provides nutritious supplemental foods to low-income pregnant, post-partum, and breastfeeding women, and to infants and children up to their fifth birthday. The Committee's action would result in 840,000 fewer food packages for women, infants, and children. Jeopardizing the health and welfare of these mothers and children cannot be justified. head start The Administration objects to the Senate action that would reduce funding for Head Start by $42 million. At the FY 1995 estimated per-child cost of $4,530, $42 million would be sufficient to provide Head Start services to approximately 9,300 children. HHS would make every effort to minimize the number of children and families who could potentially be affected by a mid-year funding reduction. However, at a minimum, the statutorily-mandated effort to serve children under age three would be sharply reduced, with more than 3,000 children not receiving Head Start services. The rescission could also eliminate all new funding for the statutorily-mandated initiative to enhance the transition of Head Start children into the public schools. education programs The Committee-reported bill would reduce the funding for Goals 2000 by $68 million, which would greatly diminish support to States and communities for raising academic standards and improving their local schools. The Committee- reported bill also proposes to cut the Education for the Disadvantaged program by $80 million, which would reduce services to educationally disadvantaged children. The Administration is also opposed to the $95 million reduction proposed for the direct student loan program. summer jobs The Summer Jobs Program provides meaningful work experience for hundreds of thousands of economically disadvantaged youth who might otherwise not have any opportunity to learn necessary job skills and workplace behaviors during crucial formative years. The Administration is pleased that the Committee has not reduced funding for this program for the summer of 1995. However, the Administration remains concerned that the rescission contained in the Committee-reported bill would eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment program in the summer of 1996, thereby eliminating job opportunities for about 615,000 disadvantaged youth. The Administration strongly believes that improving the job prospects of at- risk youth is an important element in a broader strategy to ensure employment opportunities for all Americans and a vibrant, productive workforce for U.S. business. job corps The Administration objects to the Senate Committee action that would rescind $46 million for Job Corps. This action would halt expansion of a youth training program with a track record of improving the employment and earnings of poor youth. The Committee action would eliminate funds to continue work on the eight new Job Corps centers that were launched with previous years' appropriations. Work is underway on these eight centers, which would create 3,200 new training slots for about 4,700 severely disadvantaged youth each year. In addition, the Senate Committee action would eliminate funds to initiate four new Job Corps centers in 1995, which would boost capacity by another 1,600 slots. violent crime and drug abuse control The Administration is concerned that the Committee has chosen to rescind nearly $100 million in funding for the Safe and Drug Free School Program at the same time that every poll shows that crime and school safety are a major concern of Americans. This program is the centerpiece of the Administration's fight against the use of drugs and stimulants by an alarming increasing number of our youth. The Administration opposes the Committee's recommendation to rescind $53 million for violent crime prevention and drug control initiatives--$39 million of which is funded through the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund (VCRTF). Of the total amount rescinded, nearly $27 million would come from the Drug Courts program, which will provide drug treatment and real first-time drug offenders. Another $11 million would come from the Family and Community Endeavor Schools (FACES) program, which seeks to provide healthy alternatives to the streets for youth. All grant funding for the Ounce of Prevention Council would be rescinded. Another $13 million (non-VCRTF funding) would come from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block grants, which would reduce States' abilities to offer drug abuse treatment. FEMA Disaster Relief P.L. 102-229, the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1992, contained a special provision on emergency designations under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) for FEMA Stafford Act activities. That provision specifies that all appropriations for disaster assistance in excess of the then historical annual average obligation of $320 million (or the amount of the President's budget request, whichever is lower) ``shall be considered as `emergency requirements' pursuant to'' the BEA, and ``such amounts shall hereafter be so designated.'' This provision is permanent law applying in FY 1993 and ``thereafter,'' and expressly applies ``notwithstanding any other provision of law.'' In FY 1995, the President requested and the Congress did in fact appropriate $320 million for FEMA disaster activities. The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has decided to disregard this provision of law and to include this emergency funding in a controversial rescission bill, which will inevitably lead to delay. Housing Assistance The Committee-reported bill would threaten the well-being of our Nation's most needy and vulnerable citizens and would wreak havoc upon the stability of our Nation's most distressed communities. The draconian cuts targeted towards programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development would deny help to thousands of needy, low-income households, including many homeless families. Hundreds of communities would lose money that they have counted on for critical community needs such as housing rehabilitation. Timber Sales The Administration is opposed to a provision of the Committee-reported bill that would too broadly define ``salvage timber sales'' to include sales of primarily healthy trees, supersede the otherwise applicable environmental and land management statutes, and restrict citizens' access to the courts. The Administration remains steadfastly committed to the Northwest Forest Plan, which establishes a careful balance between sustainable timber harvest and sound ecosystem management. The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce last month announced a comprehensive plan to accelerate timber salvage sales. Nevertheless, the Administration is concerned that the current timber salvage program does not meet expectations. In addition to the measures already underway at these agencies to accelerate timber salvage sales, we stand ready to work with the Congress to find appropriate, productive solutions to this pressing national problem that would not result in a return to gridlock. davis-bacon provision The Administration opposes a provision in the bill that would exempt any contract associated with the construction of facilities for the National Museum of the American Indian from the Davis-Bacon Act. The Act requires that all Federally-funded or Federally-assisted construction be covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. An exception in this case would be counter the goals of the Act. science and technology This Administration remains firmly committed to increasing the Nation's productivity and raising living standards by investing in science and technology. These investment will lead to a healthy, educated public; job creation and economic growth; world leadership in science, mathematics, and engineering; and harnessed information technology. The rescissions proposed by the Committee for many of the programs in the Department of Commerce would severely threaten the United States' standing with respect to technology advancements and competitiveness. Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contained in the Committee-reported bill would reduce the number of new centers established from 36 to 10. This would result in reduced access top state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and techniques by U.S. manufacturers--a key component of the U.S. economy. The proposed $19.5 million rescission of funds for laboratory research at NIST would have a real impact on industry's ability to compete in both emerging and mature markets. NIST laboratories develop and deliver measurement techniques and services that provide a common language needed by industry in all stages of commerce. The rescissions would result in the elimination of new starts in the areas of Advanced Manufacturing, Biotechnology, Semiconductor Metrology, and Information Infrastructure standards development resulting in the diminished competitive posture of U.S. industry. Reductions are also proposed by the Committee for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) solar, renewable energy, and conservation research programs. Such reductions would threaten our national effort to implement fully the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Climate Change Action Plan. Reduction to the DOE science budget also would adversely impact climate change, human genome, and neutron research. The additional reductions to the Environmental Management program would impede progress at several of the Department's cleanup sites. The Committee's proposed rescission of $12.5 million for the National Biological Service in the Department of the Interior would severely hamper the Service's ability to provide basic scientific information to the land managing bureaus within the Department, including programs in the Pacific Northwest. This rescission would force the Service to consider closing the Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Also, certain laboratory facilities would be considered for closure, and joint State projects underway in more than 30 States would be reduced. The Committee has proposed rescinding $42 million of upgrades to the national transonic wind tunnel. These upgrades have been planned for many years and are critical to maintaining the performance of these tunnels. The wind tunnel complex has contributed to the development of almost every U.S-developed military and civil aircraft. Failure to modernize this facility will increase the delay in critical test data. These upgrades are needed now and are unrelated to the development of a new wind tunnel facility. The Senate is urged not to imperil our Nation's standing on the technology frontier. international programs The Committee-reported bill does not appropriate the requested $672 million emergency supplemental for assessed U.N. peacekeeping costs that will accrue during FY 1995. The United States is bound by treaty to pay these costs. Failure to pay them by the end of the fiscal year will imperil the continuity of U.N. missions in regions of great importance to the U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Rather than approve the requested supplemental, the Committee has proposed to rescind peacekeeping funds. drinking water state revolving funds While an improvement over the House-passed bill, the rescission of $0.8 billion in funds to help municipalities comply with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements contained in the Committee-reported bill would still seriously exacerbate local financing problems. Municipalities need almost $9 billion in capital costs to comply with existing regulations and additional billions to comply with future rules needed to prevent problems such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 that killed 100 people and caused illness in another 400,000. Most affected by this rescission would be the 27 million people who get their water from a system that has violated drinking water standards. If Congress fails to authorize the drinking water state revolving fund program, these funds can be used without further Congressional action to address the $137 billion in wastewater construction needs. social security administration (ssa) automation investment The Committee bill reduces funding for SSA computer systems by $88 million, thus eliminating all second-year funding for SSA's multi-year automation investment. This reduction would lead to deterioration in service by not allowing for the purchase of new computer equipment as existing equipment wears out and customer demands increase. The funds proposed for rescission are already programmed to support contract awards for quantities of computers supported by the Committee and the General Accounting Office. The Administration notes the Committee's concern about the total number of computers SSA plans to acquire over a five- year period. Under the current SSA plan, the level of funding provided in FYs 1994 and 1995 funds the installation of less than one-third of the total number of workstations planned. The Administration believes that the Committee's concern with out-year plans would be more appropriately addressed in relation to out-year funding. coast guard The Administration opposes the Committee's action to reduce Coast Guard operating expenses while supplementing funding for expenses related to operations in Haiti and Cuba. Offsets to pay for those activities deemed an emergency by the Administration are counterproductive. Additional cuts would negate the effects of the supplemental, thereby rendering the Coast Guard less able to provide the level of service the public expects. base realignment and closure The Committee bill would rescind $140 million from the Base Realignment and Closure accounts. This action would slow local communities' productive reuse of base closure property by delaying the departure of military units and by limiting funding for environmental restoration. Making property available for economic redevelopment is a key part of the Administration's Five Point Plan for assisting base closure communities. nato infrastructure The Committee bill would rescind $69 million from the NATO Infrastructure account. This action could undermine existing NATO Infrastructure agreements and treaty commitments and frustrate our efforts to increase the burdensharing contributions of our allies. All of the FY 1995 appropriations for NATO Infrastructure have been obligated or committed for specific NATO construction projects, which would have to be terminated--with potential termination penalties--if the rescission were enacted. Furthermore, such a rescission would set a precedent for other NATO nations to withdraw their support form the NATO Infrastructure budget. Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, March 21, 1995. Hon. Mark O. Hatfield, Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, Washington, DC Dear Mr. Chairman: The purpose of this letter is to provide the Administration's views on H.R. 1158, the supplemental appropriations and rescissions bill, as passed by the House. As the Senate develops its version of the bill, your consideration of the Administration's views would be appreciated. The Administration strongly opposes the House-passed bill. We believe that it unnecessarily cuts valuable, proven programs that educate our children and aid the disadvantaged, including the National Service program. The Administration also opposes reductions in programs that were established to ensure our Nation's role in the advancement of technology. Further, we strongly oppose a provision in the bill that would prohibit implementation of the Executive Order on striker replacements. Based on all of these considerations, if the President were presented a bill containing these provisions, he would veto the bill. budget enforcement act emergency designation As the President stated in his February 14, 1995, letter to the Speaker, the Administration is proud of its record for reducing the deficit while providing prompt assistance to the victims of natural disasters. The Budget Enforcement Act, signed by President Bush, established the authority for the President and Congress to exempt certain spending from the statutory caps, specifically for the purpose of meeting unanticipated emergency requirements. This joint designation by the President and the Congress has been used over the last four years to provide critical assistance in response to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, extreme cold and agricultural disasters, and for other purposes. deficit reduction The Administration remains firmly committed to deficit reduction. In 1993, the Administration worked with the Congress to enact the largest deficit reduction package in history. We cut Federal spending by $255 billion over five years, cut taxes for 40 million low- and moderate-income Americans, and made 90 percent of small businesses eligible for tax relief, while increasing income tax rates only on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of Americans. As we placed a tight ``freeze'' on overall discretionary spending at the FY 1993 levels, we shifted spending toward investments in human and physical capital that will help secure our future. This Administration's economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in FY 1992--to $203 billion in FY 1994, to a projected $191 billion this year--providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. We believe that we can address the issue of deficit reduction and provide for the Middle Class Bill of Rights without putting low-income families at risk. The Administration does not believe that sound programs, particularly those aimed at the disadvantaged and those that will ensure our Nation's preeminent standing in science and technology, should be cut. The Administration would be particularly troubled if such cuts were made to finance a tax cut for higher-income taxpayers. In light of the House Budget Committee action last week, it is clear that savings generated by the House version of H.R. 1158 are intended to be used for a tax cut for higher-income taxpayers. In the FY 1996 Budget, the President has proposed significant rescissions for FY 1995 and additional program terminations in FY contrast, the House-passed bill would impose severe reductions on a number of high-priority programs. These cuts would have a particularly harmful effect on our Nation's children by cutting funding for National Service, Summer Jobs, WIC, and housing for families. Many of the cuts are shortsighted--reducing funding for education, for advanced technology programs that are critical to our Nation's future, and eliminating funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which would be instrumental in leveraging investments in our country's most distressed communities. Other cuts would adversely affect the health of Americans by cutting funding for safe drinking water and violent crime prevention and anti-drug programs. In its consideration of the bill, we urge the Senate to restore these cuts. national service program The proposed $416 million rescission for the Corporation for National and Community Service would virtually terminate the President's National Service program. Remaining funds would provide only 4,000 of the proposed 33,000 opportunities for young adults to serve their communities as AmeriCorps members and earn an education award. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for thousands of school children to learn responsibility to their community for the first time. In addition, over 1,000 young persons currently serving in communities hard hit by defense downsizing would be sent home immediately, and their camps--established on downsized military bases--would be closed. This program has a proven track record. For example, AmeriCorps members have already reclaimed recreation areas in inner cities from gangs, and thousands of low-income and migrant children have received proper immunizations to protect their health. AmeriCorps members also have helped raise the spelling scores and reading levels of rural disadvantaged children, built homes for ``working-poor'' families, and provide disaster relief assistance to victims throughout the western part of the country. The Administration strongly believes that national service is a key to solving problems inside America's communities. The Senate is urged to restore full funding for this important program. striker replacement The Administration opposes a provision in the House-passed bill that would prohibit the Executive Branch from using FY 1995 funds to issue, implement, administer, or enforce any Executive Order or other rule or order that prohibits Federal contracts with companies that hire permanent replacements for striking employees. This provision would impinge upon the Executive Branch's ability to ensure a stable supply of quality goods and services for the government's programs. The use or the threat to use permanent replacement workers destroys opportunities for cooperative and stable labor- management relations. timber salvage sales The Administration objects to a provision that would mandate a minimum level of timber salvage sales from Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. The Department of Justice has advised that enactment of this amendment would likely result in renewed judicial review of the President's Forest Plan and could reduce timber, grazing, and mining activities in the West. The Administration is already taking steps to restore and sustain significant levels of timber harvest in the immediate future. In addition, the Administration will shortly announce changes in the consultation process designed to expedite review of timber salvage sales as well as other actions to increase timber harvest, in full compliance with environmental laws. FEMA emergency supplemental The Administration is disappointed that the House has chosen to include urgently needed FEMA emergency supplemental funds in this controversial bill. This could cause an unnecessary delay in assistance to victims of natural disasters. If action on the Administration's request is delayed, FEMA will, beginning in May, be unable to allocate funds to meet any new disaster requirements, unless money reserved for the 40 states currently receiving disaster assistance is cut. Additional Administration concerns with the House-passed bill are contained in the enclosure. We look forward to working with the Senate to address our mutual concerns. Sincerely, Alice M. Rivlin, Director. Additional Concerns--H.R. 1158--Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Additional Disaster Assistance and Making Rescissions for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1995, and for Other Purposes (as Passed by the House) fema disaster relief P.L. 102-229, the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1992, contained a special provision on emergency designations under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) for FEMA Stafford Act activities. That provision specifies that all appropriations for disaster assistance in excess of the then historical annual average obligation of $320 million (or the amount of the President's budget request, whichever is lower) ``shall be considered as `emergency requirements' pursuant to'' the BEA, and ``such amounts shall hereafter be so designated.'' This provision is permanent law applying in FY 1993 and ``thereafter,'' and expressly applies ``notwithstanding any other provision of law.'' In FY 1995, the President requested and the Congress did in fact appropriate $320 million for FEMA disaster activities. The Administration is disappointed that the House has decided to disregard this provision of law and to include this emergency funding in a controversial rescission bill, which will inevitably lead to delay. summer jobs The Summer Jobs Program provides meaningful work experience for hundreds of thousands of economically disadvantaged youth who might otherwise not have any opportunity to learn necessary job skills and workplace behaviors during crucial formative years. The rescission contained in the House-passed bill would eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment program in each of the summers of 1995 and 1996, thereby eliminating job opportunities for about 615,000 disadvantaged youth in each of these summers. The Administration strongly believes that improving the job prospects of at-risk youth is an important element in a broader strategy to ensure employment opportunities for all Americans and a vibrant, productive workforce for U.S. business. women, infants, and children (wic) The House-passed bill would reduce funds available for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by $25 million. The WIC program provides nutritious supplemental foods to low-income pregnant, post- partum, and breastfeeding women, and to infants and children up to their fifth birthday. The House's action would result in 600,000 fewer food packages for women, infants, and children. Jeopardizing the health and welfare of these mothers and children cannot be justified. education programs The House-passed bill would reduce by over one-third ($174 million) the funding for Goals 2000, which would greatly diminish support to States and communities for raising academic standards and improving their local schools. The House-passed bill also proposes to cut the Education for the Disadvantaged program by $140 million, which would reduce services to educationally disadvantaged children. The House- passed bill's sharp reduction in funding for education technology programs ($65 million) would enable fewer local communities to put state-of-the-art tools of learning in classrooms where they are most needed to prepare our students for the future. violent crime and drug abuse control The Administration is concerned that the House has chosen to rescind nearly $472 million in funding for the Safe and Drug Free School Program at the same time that every poll shows that crime and school safety are a major concern of Americans. This program is the centerpiece of the Administration's fight against the use of drugs and stimulants by an alarmingly increasing number of our youth. The Administration opposes the House's recommendation to rescind $65 million for violent crime prevention and drug control initiatives funded through the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. Of this amount, nearly $28 million would come from the Drug Courts program, which will provide drug treatment and real opportunities for rehabilitation for non-violent, first-time drug offenders. Another $37 million would come from the Family and Community Endeavor Schools (FACES) program, which seeks to provide healthy alternatives to the streets for youth. science and technology This Administration remains firmly committed to increasing the Nation's productivity and raising living standards by investing in science and technology. These investments will lead to a healthy, educated public; job creation and economic growth; world leadership in science, mathematics, and engineering; and harnessed information technology. The rescissions proposed by the House for many of the programs in the Department of Commerce would severely threaten the United States' standing with respect to technology advancements and competitiveness. The proposed rescission of funds for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contained in the House-passed bill would reduce the number of new centers established from 36 to 10. This would result in reduced access to state-of- the-art manufacturing technology and techniques by U.S. manufacturers--a key component of the U.S. economy. The $30 million rescission included in the House-passed bill for the National Information Infrastructure Grants program would eliminate grants to about 70-90 schools, hospitals, non-profits, and State and local governments. An additional rescission of $34 million is contained in the Senate version of H.R. 889. These two rescissions would eliminate all funding for this program. This action would decrease the credibility of the program as a funding source and thus discourage private sector matching grants to program applicants. The Senate is urged to rescind funds from lower- priority projects as set forth in the President's budget. for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) solar, renewable energy, and conservation research programs. Such reductions would threaten our national effort to implement fully the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Climate Change Action Plan. Reduction to the DOE science budget also would adversely impact climate change, human genome, and neutron research. In addition, the $45 million reduction to the Environmental Management program would impede progress at several of the Department's cleanup sites. Coming this late in the fiscal year, the House's proposed rescission of $16.8 million for the National Biological Service in the Department of the Interior (10 percent of the operating budget) will force the Service to consider closing one or more of the four major Centers located in Lafayette, Louisiana; Seattle, Washington; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Anchorage, Alaska; as well as several other laboratories. This would severely hamper the Service's ability to provide basic scientific information to the land managing bureaus within the Department, including programs in the Pacific Northwest, and would eliminate joint State projects underway in more than 30 States. The Senate is urged not to imperil our Nation's standing on the technology frontier. housing assistance The House-passed bill would threaten the well-being of our Nation's most needy and vulnerable citizens and would wreak havoc upon the stability of our Nation's most distressed communities. The draconian cuts targeted towards programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development would deny help to 63,000 needy, low-income households, including many homeless families. The bill could also prevent another 24,000 homeless families from moving to transitional or permanent housing during this fiscal year. Hundreds of communities would lose money that they have counted on for critical community needs such as housing rehabilitation and social services for the elderly. In addition, the House's rescission of all FY 1995 funding for the Federal Government's primary rural multi-family rental housing direct loan program (section 515) would put thousands of rural residents living in existing Federal multi-family projects at risk and jeopardize the Government's investment in these projects. Many of the Department of Agriculture's projects need to be rehabilitated and, without the FY 1995 funding, would be in danger of being closed. community development financial institutions (CDFI) fund The proposed rescission of $124 million contained in the House-passed bill would terminate this program. Without this funding, in FYs 1995 and 1996 the CDFI Fund would not be able to provide: $10 million in direct loan subsidies to support over $23 million of direct loans to CDFIs; $70.5 million in grants, technical assistance, and other financial assistance to CDFIs; and $39 million in community development incentives for depository institutions. The Fund's investments in CDFIs, banks, and thrifts would leverage an estimated $500 million in investments, loans, and financial services in the country's most distressed communities. The Senate is urged to restore this funding. international programs The House-passed bill does not appropriate the requested $672 million emergency supplemental for assessed U.N. peacekeeping costs that will accrue during FY 1995. The United States is bound by treaty to pay these costs. Failure to pay them by the end of the fiscal year will imperil the continuity of U.N. missions in regions of great importance to the U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Rather than approve the requested supplemental, the House has proposed to rescind peacekeeping funds. The House-passed bill provides only $50 million of the $275 million requested for Jordan debt forgiveness. This debt forgiveness is linked to the historic steps taken by King Hussein to conclude a peace agreement with Israel, an act that markedly improved prospects for overall peace in the region and that involved considerable risk for King Hussein. We urge the Congress to provide for Jordan debt forgiveness in H.R. 889 as it passed the Senate in support of the hopeful developments in this region. highways--emergency relief The House-passed bill would eliminate $351 million in funding previously appropriated in response to the Northridge earthquake and other disasters. Over $50 million of this amount is expected to be needed just to meet claims for flood damage in California and Washington. In addition to leaving the Department of Transportation unable to meet the funding needs of existing disasters, this rescission would eliminate the Department's ability to respond promptly to future disasters. Instead of recommending rescission of these needed funds, the Administration urges the Senate to cancel unobligated balances of highway demonstration projects, as proposed in the President's FY 1996 Budget. drinking water state revolving funds The rescission of $1.3 billion in funds to help municipalities comply with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements contained in the House-passed bill would seriously exacerbate local financing problems. Municipalities need almost $9 billion in capital costs to comply with existing regulations and additional billions to comply with future rules needed to prevent problems such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 that killed 100 people and caused illness in another 400,000. Most affected by this rescission would be the 27 million people who get their water from a system that has violated drinking water standards. If Congress fails to authorize the drinking water state revolving fund program, these funds can be used without further Congressional action to address the $137 billion in wastewater construction needs. coast guard The Administration opposes the House action to reduce Coast Guard operating expenses while supplementing funding for expenses related to operations in Haiti and Cuba. Offsets to pay for those activities deemed an emergency by the Administration are counterproductive. Additional cuts would negate the effects of the supplemental, thereby rendering the Coast Guard less able to provide the level of service the public expects. corporation for public broadcasting The Administration believes that the House's action to reduce funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) by a total of 23 percent from FY 1995 to FY 1997 is excessive and shortsighted. The Administration is committed to providing equal access to educational opportunities, particularly for young children, regardless of income or geographic location. occupational safety and health administration (osha) The House-passed bill would rescind $19.6 million from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This is a 6.3 percent reduction in OSHA funding and effectively a 12.6 percent reduction since it comes so late in the fiscal year. The rescission would have a dramatic impact on OSHA's ability to fulfill its mission to protect workers and on the Administration's efforts to make the agency more effective. This rescission would hinder OSHA's compliance assistance programs and education and training initiatives, as well as enforcement, resulting in an estimated 6,300 additional preventable injuries. H.R. 1158 Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Additional Disaster Assistance and Making Rescissions for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1995, and for Other Purposes This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on the supplemental appropriations and rescissions bill as reported by the House Appropriations Committee. The Administration strongly opposes this bill in its present form. We believe that it unnecessarily cuts valuable, proven programs that educate our children and aid the disadvantaged. The Administration also opposes cuts for programs that were established to ensure our Nation's role in the advancement of technology. We also strongly oppose a provision in the bill that would upset the balance contained in current law concerning Federal funding of abortions for the victims of rape and incest and a provision that would prohibit implementation of the Executive Order on striker replacements. Based on all of these considerations, if the President were presented a bill containing these provisions, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget would recommend that he veto the bill. As the President said in his February 14, 1995, letter, the Administration is proud of its record for reducing the deficit while providing prompt assistance to the victims of natural disasters. The Budget Enforcement Act, signed by President Bush, established the authority for the President and Congress to exempt certain spending from statutory caps, specifically for the purpose of meeting emergency, unanticipated requirements. This joint designation by the President and the Congress has been used over the last four years to provide critical assistance in response to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, extreme cold and agricultural disasters, and for other purposes. The Administration remains firmly committed to deficit reduction. In 1993, the Administration worked with the Congress to enact the largest deficit reduction package in history. We cut Federal spending $255 billion over five years, cut taxes for 40 million low- and moderate-income Americans, and made 90 percent of small businesses eligible for tax relief, while increasing income tax rates only on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of Americans. As we placed a tight ``freeze' on overall discretionary spending at the FY 1993 levels, we shifted spending toward investment in human and physical capital that will help secure our future. This Administration's economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in FY 1992, to $203 billion in FY 1994, to a projected $193 billion this year--providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. We believe that we can address the issue of deficit reduction and provide for the Middle Class Bill of Rights without putting low-income families at risk. The Administration does not believe that sound programs, particularly those aimed at the disadvantaged and those that will ensure our Nation's standing in areas of science and technology, should be cut. It would be particularly unwise to make such cuts to finance a tax cut for higher-income taxpayers. proposed significant rescissions for FY 1995 and additional program terminations in FY 1996 for numerous low-priority programs. In contrast, this bill would impose severe reductions on a number of high-priority programs. These cuts would have a particularly harmful effect on our Nation's children by cutting funding for National Service, Summer Jobs, and WIC. Many of the cuts are shortsighted, reducing funding for education, for advanced technology programs that are critical to our Nation's future, and eliminating funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which would be instrumental in leveraging investments in our country's most distressed communities. Other cuts would adversely affect the health of Americans by cutting safe drinking water funding and violent crime prevention programs. The Administration is opposed to an amendment that was added by the Committee that would allow states to decide to stop using public funds to pay for abortions in cases of rape and incest. The President believes that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. The Administration is committed to ensuring that women who are victims of rape and incest have the right to choose abortion as an option. A woman should not be precluded from choosing this option if she is poor. The Administration opposes a provision in the bill that would prohibit the Executive Branch from using FY 1995 funds to issue, implement, administer, or enforce any Executive Order or other rule or order that prohibits Federal contracts with companies that hire permanent replacements for striking employees. This provision would impinge upon the Executive Branch's ability to ensure a stable supply of quality goods and services for the government's programs. The Administration objects to an amendment that was added by the Committee that would mandate a minimum level of timber salvage sales from Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. The Department of Justice has advised that enactment of this amendment would likely result in renewed judicial review of the President's Forest Plan and could reduce timber, grazing, and mining activities in the West. The Administration is already taking steps to restore and sustain significant levels of timber harvest in the immediate future. In addition, the Administration will shortly announce changes in the consultation process designed to expedite review of timber salvage sales as well as other actions to increase timber harvest, in full compliance with environmental laws. The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has chosen to include urgently needed FEMA emergency supplemental funds in this controversial bill. This could cause an unnecessary delay in assistance to victims of natural disasters. If action on the Administration's request is delayed, FEMA will, beginning in May, be unable to allocate funds to meet any new disaster requirements, unless money reserved for the 40 states currently receiving disaster assistance is cut. Additional Administration concerns with the Committee- reported bill are contained in the attachment. Additional Concerns as Reported by the House Full Committee fema disaster relief P.L. 102-229, the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1992, contained a special provision on emergency designations under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) for FEMA Stafford Act activities. That provision specifies that all appropriations for disaster assistance in excess of the then historical annual average obligation of $320 million (or the amount of the President's budget request, whichever is lower) ``shall be considered as `emergency requirements' pursuant to'' the BEA, and ``such amounts shall hereafter be so designated.'' This provision is permanent law applying in FY 1993 and ``thereafter,'' and expressly applies ``notwithstanding any other provision of law.'' In FY 1995, the President requested and the Congress did in fact appropriate $320 million for FEMA disaster activities. The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has decided to disregard this provision of law and to include this emergency funding in a controversial rescission bill, which will inevitably lead to delay. summer jobs The Summer Jobs Program provides meaningful work experience for hundreds of thousands of economically disadvantaged youth who might otherwise not have any opportunity to learn necessary job skills and workplace behaviors during crucial formative years. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment program in each of the summers of 1995 and 1996, thereby eliminating job opportunities for about 615,000 disadvantaged youth in each of these summers. The Administration strongly believes that improving the job prospects of at-risk youth is an important element in a broader strategy to ensure employment opportunities for all Americans and a vibrant, productive workforce for U.S. business. The House is urged to restore funding for this important initiative. national service The proposed $210 million rescission for the Corporation for National and Community Service would reduce significantly the President's National Service program, depriving more than 15,000 young adults of the opportunity to serve their communities as an AmeriCorps member and earn an education benefit. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for the opportunity for thousands of school children to learn about responsibility to their community for the first time. This program has a proven track record. For example, AmeriCorps members have already reclaimed recreation areas in inner cities from gangs, and thousands of low-income and migrant children have received proper immunizations to protect their health. The Administration strongly believes that national service is a key to solving problems inside America's communities. The House is urged to restore funding for this important program. women, infants, and children (wic) The bill would reduce funds available for the Special Supplemental nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by $25 million. The WIC program provides nutritious supplemental foods to low-income pregnant, post- partum, and breastfeeding women, and to infants and children up to their fifth birthday. The Committee's action would result in 600,000 fewer food packages for women, infants, and children. Jeopardizing the health and welfare of these mothers and children cannot be justified. education programs The bill would reduce by over one-third ($174 million) the funding for Goals 2000, which would greatly diminish support to States and communities for raising academic standards and improving their local schools. The bill also proposes to cut the Education for the Disadvantaged program by $105 million, which would reduce services to educationally disadvantaged children. The bill's sharp reduction in funding for education technology program ($65 million) would enable fewer local communities to put state-of-the-art tools of learning in classrooms where they are most needed to prepare our students for the future. science and technology This Administration remains firmly committed to increasing the Nation's productivity and raising living standards by investing in science and technology. These investments will lead to a healthy, educated public; job creation and economic growth; world leadership in science, mathematics, and engineering; and harnessed information technology. The rescissions proposed in this bill for many of the programs in the Department of Commerce would severely threaten the United States' standing with respect to technology advancements and competitiveness. The proposed rescission of funds for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would reduce the number of new centers established from 36 to 10. This would result in reduced access to state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and techniques by U.S. manufacturers--a key component of the U.S. economy. The $30 million rescission proposed for the National Information Infrastructure Grants program would eliminate grants to about 70-90 schools, hospitals, non-profits, and state and local governments. This action would decrease the credibility of the program as a funding source and thus discourage private sector matching grants to program applicants. Reductions are also proposed for the Department of Energy's (DOE) solar, renewable energy, and conservation research programs. Such reductions would threaten our national effort to implement fully the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Climate Change Action Plan. Reduction to the DOE science budget also would adversely impact climate change, human genome, and neutron research. In addition, the $45 million reduction to the Environmental Management program would impede progress at several of the Department's cleanup sites. The proposed rescission of $16.8 million, or 10 percent of the operating budget of the National Biological Service in the Department of the Interior, this late in the fiscal year, will force the Service to consider closing one or more of the four major Centers located in Lafayette, Louisiana; Seattle, Washington; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Anchorage, Alaska; as well as several other laboratories. This would severely hamper the Service's ability to provide basic scientific information the land managing bureaus within the Department, including programs in the Pacific Northwest, and would eliminate joint State projects underway in more than 30 States. The House is urged not to imperil our Nation's standing on the technology frontier. violent crime and drug abuse control The Administration is concerned that the Committee has chosen to rescind nearly $482 million in funding for the Safe and Drug Free School Program at the same time that every poll shows that crime and school safety are a major concern of Americans. This program is the centerpiece of the Administration's fight against the use of drugs and stimulants by an alarmingly increasing number of our youth. The Administration opposes the Committee's recommendation to rescind $65 million for violent crime prevention and drug control initiatives funded through the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. Of this amount, nearly $28 million would come from drug treatment and real opportunities for rehabilitation for non-violent, first-time drug offenders. Another $37 million would come from the Family and Community Endeavor Schools (FACES) program, which seeks to provide healthy alternatives to the streets for youth. housing assistance As currently drafted, this bill would threaten the well- being of our Nation's most needy and vulnerable citizens and would wreak havoc upon the stability of our Nation's most distressed communities. The draconian cuts targeted towards programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development would deny help to 63,000 needy, low-income households, including many homeless families. The bill would also prevent another 24,000 homeless families from moving to transitional or permanent housing during this fiscal year. Hundreds of communities would lose money that they have counted on for critical community needs such as housing rehabilitation and social services for the elderly. The House is urged to restore funding to these vital areas. In addition, the rescission of all FY 1995 funding for the Federal Government's primary rural multi-family rental housing direct loan program (section 515) would put thousands of rural residents living in existing Federal multi-family projects at risk and jeopardize the Government's investment in these projects. Many of the Department of Agriculture's projects need to be rehabilitated and, without the FY 1995 funding, would be in danger of being closed. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund The proposed rescission of $124 million would terminate this program. Without this funding, the CDFI Fund would not be able to provide: $10 million in direct loan subsidies to support over $23 million of direct loans to CDFIs; $50 million in grants, technical assistance, and other financial assistance to CDFIs; and $20 million in community development incentives for depository institutions. The Fund's investments in CDFIs, banks, and thrifts would leverage an estimated $500 million in investments, loans, and financial services in the country's most distressed communities. The House is urged to restore this funding. International Programs The bill does not appropriate the requested $672 million emergency supplemental for assessed U.N. peacekeeping costs that will accrue during FY 1995. The United States is bound by treaty to pay these costs. Failure to pay them by the end of the fiscal year will imperil the continuity of U.N. missions in regions of great importance to the U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Rather than approve the requested supplemental, the Committee has rescinded peacekeeping funds. This bill provides only $50 million of the $275 million requested for Jordan debt forgiveness. This debt forgiveness is linked to the historic steps taken by King Hussein to conclude a peace agreement with Israel, an act that markedly improved prospects for overall peace in the region and that involved considerable risk for King Hussein. We urge the House to provide the requested funds for Jordan debt forgiveness in support of the hopeful developments in this region. Highways--Emergency Relief This bill would eliminate $351 million in funding previously appropriated in response to the Northridge earthquake and other disasters. Over $50 million of this amount is expected to be needed just to meet claims for flood damage in California and Washington. In addition to leaving the Department of Transportation unable to meet the funding needs of existing disasters, this rescission would eliminate the Department's ability to respond promptly to future disasters. Instead of recommending rescission of these needed funds, the Administration urges the House to cancel unobligated balances of highway demonstration projects, as proposed in the President's FY 1996 Budget. Drinking Water State Revolving Funds The rescission of $1.3 billion in funds to help municipalities comply with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements would seriously exacerbate local financing problems. Municipalities need almost $9 billion in capital costs to comply with existing regulations and additional billions to comply with future rules needed to prevent problems such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 that killed 100 people and caused illness in another 400,000. Most affected by this rescission would be the 27 million people who get their water from a system that has violated drinking water standards. If Congress fails to authorize the drinking water state revolving fund program, these funds can be used without further Congressional action to address the $137 billion in wastewater construction needs. Coast Guard The Administration opposes action to reduce Coast Guard operating expenses while supplementing funding for expenses related to operations in Haiti and Cuba. Offsets to pay for those activities deemed an emergency by the Administration are counterproductive. Additional cuts would negate the effects of the supplemental, thereby rendering the Coast Guard less able to provide the level of service the public expects. Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Administration believes that the Committee's action to reduce funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) by a total of 23 percent from FY 1995 to FY 1997 is excessive and shortsighted. The Administration is committed to providing equal access to educational opportunities, particularly for young children, regardless of income or geographic location. H.R. 1158--Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Additional Disaster Assistance and Making Rescissions for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1995, and for Other Purposes H.R. 1159--Making Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1995 and for Other Purposes This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on the two supplemental appropriations and rescissions bills, H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1159, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee. The Administration strongly opposes both of these bills in their present form. We believe that they unnecessarily cut valuable, proven programs that educate our children and aid the disadvantaged. The Administration also opposes cuts for programs that were established to ensure our Nation's role in the advancement of technology. We also strongly oppose a provision in the bill which would upset the balance contained in current law concerning Federal funding of abortions for the victims of rape and incest and a provision that would prohibit implementation of the Executive Order on striker replacements. Based on all of these considerations, if the President were presented a bill containing the provisions of these two bills, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget would recommend that he veto the bill. As the President said in his February 14, 1995, letter, the Administration is proud of its record for reducing the deficit while providing prompt assistance to the victims of natural disasters. The Budget Enforcement Act, signed by President Bush, established the authority for the President and Congress to exempt certain spending from the statutory caps, specifically for the purpose of meeting emergency, unanticipated requirements. This joint designation by the President and the Congress has been used over the last four years to provide critical assistance in response to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, extreme cold and agricultural disasters, and for other purposes. The Administration remains firmly committed to deficit reduction. In 1993, the Administration worked with the Congress to enact the largest deficit reduction package in history. We cut Federal spending by $255 billion over five years, cut taxes for 40 million low- and moderate-income Americans, and made 90 percent of small businesses eligible for tax relief, while increasing income tax rates only on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of Americans. As we placed a tight ``freeze'' on overall discretionary spending at the FY 1993 levels, we shifted spending toward investments in human and physical capital that will help secure our future. This Administration's economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in FY 1992, to $203 billion in FY 1994, to a projected $193 billion this year--providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. We believe that we can address the issue of deficit reduction and provide for the Middle Class Bill of Rights without putting low-income families at risk. The Administration does not believe that sound programs, particularly those aimed at the disadvantaged and those that will ensure our Nation's standing in areas of science and technology, should be cut. It would be particularly unwise to make such cuts to finance a tax cut for higher-income taxpayers. In the FY 1996 Budget, the President has proposed significant rescissions for FY 1995 and additional program terminations in FY 1996 for numerous low priority programs. In contrast, the two House bills, H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1159, would impose severe reductions on a number of high-priority programs. These cuts would have a particularly harmful effect on our Nation's children by cutting funding for National Service, Summer Jobs, and WIC. Many of the cuts are shortsighted, reducing funding for education, for advanced technology programs that are critical to our Nation's future, and eliminating funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which would be instrumental in leveraging investments in our country's most distressed communities. Other cuts would adversely affect the health of Americans by cutting safe drinking water funding and violent crime prevention programs. The Administration is opposed to an amendment that was added by the Committee to H.R. 1159 that would allow states to decide to stop using public funds to pay for abortions in cases of rape and incest. The President believes that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. The Administration is committed to ensuring that women who are victims of rape and incest have the right to choose abortion as an option. A woman should not be precluded from choosing this option if she is poor. The Administration opposes a provision in the bill that would prohibit the Executive Branch from using FY 1995 funds to issue, Executive Order or other rule or order that prohibits Federal contracts with companies that hire permanent replacements for striking employees. This provision would impinge upon the Executive Branch's ability to ensure a stable supply of quality goods and services for the government's programs. The Administration objects to an amendment that was added by the Committee that would mandate a minimum level of timber salvage sales from Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. The Department of Justice has advised that enactment of this amendment would likely result in renewed judicial review of the President's Forest Plan and could reduce timber, grazing, and mining activities in the West. The Administration is already taking steps to restore and sustain significant levels of timber harvest in the immediate future. In addition, the Administration will shortly announce changes in the consultation process in order to expedite review of timber salvage sales as well as other actions to increase timber harvest, in full compliance with environmental laws. The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has chosen to include urgently needed FEMA emergency supplemental funds in a controversial bill such as H.R. 1158. This could cause an unnecessary delay in assistance to victims of natural disasters. If action on the Administration's request is delayed, FEMA will, beginning in May, be unable to allocate funds to meet any new disaster requirements, unless money reserved for the 40 states currently receiving disaster assistance is cut. Additional Administration concerns with the Committee- reported bill are contained in the attachment. Additional Concerns H.R. 1158--Emergency Supplemental/Rescission Bill fema disaster relief P.L. 102-229, the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1992, contained a special provision on emergency designations under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) for FEMA Stafford Act activities. That provision specifies that all appropriations for disaster assistance in excess of the then historical annual average obligation of $320 million (or the amount of the President's budget request, whichever is lower) ``shall be considered as `emergency requirements' pursuant to'' the BEA, and ``such amounts shall hereafter be so designated.'' This provision is permanent law applying in FY 1993 and ``thereafter,'' and expressly applies ``notwithstanding any other provision of law.'' In FY 1995, the President requested and the Congress did in fact appropriate $320 million for FEMA disaster activities. The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has decided to disregard this provision of law and to include this emergency funding in a controversial rescission bill, which will inevitably lead to delay. summer jobs The Summer Jobs Program provides meaningful work experience for hundreds of thousands of economically disadvantaged youth who might otherwise not have any opportunity to learn necessary job skills and workplace behaviors during crucial formative years. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment program in each of the summers of 1995 and 1996, thereby eliminating job opportunities for about 615,000 disadvantaged youth in each of these summers. The Administration strongly believes that improving the job prospects of at-risk youth is an important element in a broader strategy to ensure employment opportunities for all Americans and a vibrant, productive workforce for U.S. business. The House is urged to restore funding for this important initiative. national service The proposed $210 million rescission for the Corporation for National and Community Service would reduce significantly the President's National Service program, depriving more than 15,000 young adults of the opportunity to serve their communities as an AmeriCorps member and earn an education benefit. The proposed rescission would eliminate funding for the opportunity for thousands of school children to learn about responsibility to their community for the first time. This program has a proven track record. For example, AmeriCorps members have already reclaimed recreation areas in inner cities from gangs, and thousands of low-income and migrant children have received proper immunizations to protect their health. The Administration strongly believes that national service is a key to solving problems inside America's communities. The House is urged to restore funding for this important program. women, infants, and children (wic) The bill would reduce funds available for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by $25 million. The WIC program provides nutritious supplemental foods to low-income pregnant, post- partum, and breastfeeding women, and to infants and children up to their fifth birthday. The Committee's action would result in 600,000 fewer food packages for women, infants, and children. Jeopardizing the health and welfare of these mothers and children cannot be justified. education programs The bill would reduce by over one-third ($174 million) the funding for Goals 2000, which would greatly diminish support to States and communities for raising academic standards and improving their local schools. The bill also proposes to cut the Education for the Disadvantaged program by $105 million, which would reduce services to educationally disadvantaged children. The bill's sharp reduction in funding for education technology programs ($65 million) would enable fewer local communities to put state-of-the-art tools of learning in classrooms where they are most needed to prepare our students for the future. science and technology This Administration remains firmly committed to increasing the Nation's productivity and raising living standards by investing in science and technology. These investments will lead to a healthy, educated public; job creation and economic growth; world leadership in science, mathematics, and engineering; and harnessed information technology. The rescissions proposed in this bill for many of the programs in the Department of Commerce would severely threaten the United States' standing with respect to technology advancements and competitiveness. The proposed rescission of funds for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would reduce the number of new centers established from 36 to 10. This would result in reduced access to state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and techniques by U.S. manufacturers--a key component of the U.S. economy. The $30 million rescission proposed for the National Information Infrastructure Grants program would eliminate grants to about 70-90 schools, hospitals, non-profits, and state and local governments. This action would decrease the credibility of the program as a funding source and thus discourage private sector matching grants to program applicants. Reductions are also proposed for the Department of Energy's (DOE) solar, renewable energy, and conservation research programs. Such reductions would threaten our national effort to implement fully the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Climate Change Action Plan. Reduction to the DOE science budget also would adversely impact climate change, human genome, and neutron research. In addition, the $45 million reduction to the Environmental Management program would impede progress at several of the Department's cleanup sites. The proposed rescission of $16.8 million, or 10 percent of the operating budget of the National Biological Service in the Department of the Interior, this late in the fiscal year, will force the Service to consider closing one or more of the four major Centers located in Lafayette, Louisiana; Seattle, Washington; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Anchorage, Alaska; as well as several other laboratories. This would severely hamper the Service's ability to provide basic scientific information to the land managing bureaus within the Department, including programs in the Pacific Northwest, and would eliminate joint State projects underway in more than 30 States. The House is urged not to imperil our Nation's standing on the technology frontier. violent crime and drug abuse control The Administration is concerned that the Committee has chosen to rescind nearly $482 million in funding for the Safe and Drug Free School Program at the same time that every poll shows that crime and school safety are a major concern of Americans. This program is the centerpiece of the Administration's fight against the use of drugs and stimulants by an alarmingly increasing number of our youth. The Administration opposes the Committee's recommendation to rescind $65 million for violent crime prevention and drug control initiatives funded through the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. Of this amount, nearly $28 million would come from the Drug Courts program, which will provide drug treatment and real opportunities for rehabilitation for non-violent, first-time drug offenders. Another $37 million would come from the Family and Community Endeavor Schools (FACES) program, which seeks to provide healthy alternatives to the streets for youth. housing assistance As currently drafted, this bill would threaten the well- being of our Nation's most needy and vulnerable citizens and would wreak havoc upon the stability of our Nation's most distressed communities. The draconian cuts targeted towards programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development would deny help to 63,000 needy, low-income households, including many homeless families. The bill would also prevent another 24,000 homeless families from moving to transitional or permanent housing during this fiscal year. Hundreds of communities would lose money that they have counted on for critical community needs such as housing rehabilitation and social services for the elderly. The House is urged to restore funding to these vital areas. In addition, the rescission of all FY 1995 funding for the Federal Government's primary rural multi-family rental housing direct loan program (section 515) would put thousands of rural residents living in existing Federal multi-family projects at risk and jeopardize the Government's investment in these projects. Many of the Department of rehabilitated and, without the FY 1995 funding, would be in danger of being closed. community development financial institutions (cdfi) fund The proposed rescission of $124 million would terminate this program. Without this funding, the CDFI Fund would not be able to provide: $10 million in direct loan subsidies to support over $23 million of direct loans to CDFIs; $50 million in grants, technical assistance, and other financial assistance to CDFIs; and $20 million in community development incentives for depository institutions. The Fund's investments in CDFIs, banks, and thrifts would leverage an estimated $500 million in investments, loans, and financial services in the country's most distressed communities. The House is urged to restore this funding. international programs The bill does not appropriate the requested $672 million emergency supplemental for assessed U.N. peacekeeping costs that will accrue during FY 1995. The United States is bound by treaty to pay these costs. Failure to pay them by the end of the fiscal year will imperil the continuity of U.N. missions in regions of great importance to the U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Rather than approve the requested supplemental, the Committee has in H.R. 1159 rescinded peacekeeping funds. highways--emergency relief This bill would eliminate $351 million in funding previously appropriated in response to the Northridge earthquake and other disasters. Over $50 million of this amount is expected to be needed just to meet claims for flood damage in California and Washington. In addition to leaving the Department of Transportation unable to meet the funding needs of existing disasters, this rescission would eliminate the Department's ability to respond promptly to future disasters. Instead of recommending rescission of these needed funds, the Administration urges the House to cancel unobligated balances of highway demonstration projects, as proposed in the President's FY 1996 Budget. drinking water state revolving funds The rescission of $1.3 billion in funds to help municipalities comply with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements would seriously exacerbate local financing problems. Municipalities need almost $9 billion in capital costs to comply with existing regulations and additional billions to comply with future rules needed to prevent problems such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 that killed 100 people and caused illness in another 400,000. Most affected by this rescission would be the 27 million people who get their water from a system that has violated drinking water standards. If Congress fails to authorize the drinking water state revolving fund program, these funds can be used without further Congressional action to address the $137 billion in wastewater construction needs. coast guard The Administration opposes action to reduce Coast Guard operating expenses while supplementing funding for expenses related to operations in Haiti and Cuba. Offsets to pay for those activities deemed an emergency by the Administration are counterproductive. Additional cuts would negate the effects of the supplemental, thereby rendering the Coast Guard less able to provide the level of service the public expects. corporation for public broadcasting The Administration believes that the Committee's action to reduce funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) by a total of 23 percent from FY 1995 to FY 1997 is excessive and shortsighted. The Administration is committed to providing equal access to educational opportunities, particularly for young children, regardless of income or geographic location. H.R. 1159--Non-Emergency Supplemental/Rescission Bill international programs This bill provides only $50 million of the $275 million requested for Jordan debt forgiveness. This debt forgiveness is linked to the historic steps taken by King Hussein to conclude a peace agreement with Israel, an act that markedly improved prospects for overall peace in the region and that involved considerable risk for King Hussein. We urge the House to provide the requested funds for Jordan debt forgiveness in support of the hopeful developments in this region. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, Mar. 1, 1995. Hon. Bob Livingston, Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The purpose of this letter is to provide the Administration's views on the two supplemental appropriations and rescission bills that are being considered by the House Appropriations Committee. The Administration strongly opposes these bills in their present form. We believe that they unnecessarily cut valuable, proven programs that aid the disadvantaged in our society and programs that were established to ensure our Nation's role in the advancement of technology. The Administration remains firmly committed to deficit reduction. In 1993, the Administration worked with the Congress to enact the largest deficit reduction package in history. We cut Federal spending by $255 billion over five years, cut taxes for 40 million low- and moderate-income Americans, and made 90 percent of small businesses eligible for tax relief, while increasing income tax rates only on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of Americans. While placing a tight ``freeze'' on overall discretionary spending at the FY 1993 levels, we shifted spending toward investments in human and physical capital that will help secure our future. This Administration's economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in FY 1992, to $203 billion in FY 1994, to a projected $193 billion this year--providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. We believe that we can address the issue of deficit reduction and provide for the Middle Class Bill of Rights without putting low-income families at risk. The Administration does not believe that sound programs, particularly those aimed at the disadvantaged and those that will ensure our Nation's standing in areas of science and technology should be cut. It would be particularly unwise to make such cuts to finance a tax cut for higher income taxpayers. In the FY 1996 Budget, the President has proposed significant rescissions for FY 1995 and additional program terminations in FY 1996 for numerous low-priority programs. In contrast, the draft House bills would impose severe reductions on a number of high-priority programs. These cuts would have a particularly harmful effect on our Nation's children by cutting funding for National Service, Summer Jobs, and WIC. Many of the cuts are shortsighted, reducing funding for education and for advanced technology programs which are critical to our Nation's future. Other cuts would adversely affect the health of Americans by cutting Ryan White and safe drinking water funding. Examples of the Administration's concerns on specific items are discussed in more detail in the enclosure. The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has chosen to include urgently needed FEMA emergency supplemental funds in this controversial bill. This could cause an unnecessary delay in assistance to victims of natural disasters. If action on the Administration's request is delayed, FEMA will, beginning in May, be unable to allocate funds to meet any new disaster requirements, unless money reserved for the 40 states currently receiving disaster assistance is cut. We strongly urge the Committee to consider funding for this emergency program in a separate bill. The Administration believes that the emergency spending provided by the pending legislation is not required to be offset. The Budget Enforcement Act emergency authority was established specifically to provide for the funding of such unanticipated requirements. As the President said in his February 14, 1995, letter, the Administration is proud of its record for reducing the deficit while providing prompt assistance to the victims of natural disasters. The Budget Enforcement Act, signed by President Bush, established the authority for the President and Congress to exempt certain spending from the statutory caps, specifically for the purpose of meeting emergency, unanticipated requirements. This joint designation by the President and the Congress has been used over the last four years to provide critical assistance in response to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, extreme cold and agricultural disasters, and for other purposes. We would encourage the Committee to review its recommendations and adopt a rescission package that is more consistent with the one submitted by the President in his FY 1996 Budget. We look forward to working with the Committee to address our mutual concerns. Sincerely, Alice M. Rivlin, Director. Enclosure. Examples of Concerns making emergency supplemental appropriations for additional disaster assistance and making rescissions for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and for other purposes making supplemental appropriations and rescissions for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and for other purposes

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of our time to the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Gephardt], the distinguished minority leader.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California [Mr. Fazio].

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin].

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Brewster]. (Mr. BREWSTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to say that CBO has no trouble figuring out what the Brewster language meant. Because the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Brewster lockbox would result in $66.5 billion in deficit reduction over 5 years. The deficit reduction in this conference report is $15.48 billion. So it seems to me that the CBO, which is the neutral umpire which is supposed to keep all of us honest around here, understood what the Brewster amendment did. The Brewster amendment tried to dedicate all savings in the immediate year and out years for deficit reduction. The conference report comes back and only dedicates $15 billion. Now the chairman of the committee says, ``Oh, but that was the Byrd language.'' Let me make clear, Senator Byrd and I are in full agreement. Neither one of us wants to see these savings used to provide tax cuts for rich people. The difference is that Senator Byrd is in the other body, and the other body has a budget resolution that does not even contemplate using any of these savings for tax reduction. They contemplate using them all for deficit reduction, and so they never even dreamed that these funds would be used for a tax cut rather than for deficit reduction. So do not try to say that the language in the conference report meets the test of the Brewster amendment. It does not. CBO indicates the Brewster amendment would save $66 billion. This conference report only provides $15.48 billion for deficit reduction and makes available the rest for tax cuts. Four hundred and four people in this institution voted not to do that.

Mr. OBEY. I have a parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio, [Ms. Kaptur].

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, do the rules of the House allow a Member to impugn the motives or activities of the President of the United States without being subjected to having the words taken down, as they would if he made that charge about another Member of the House?

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, let me simply say there are four reasons to vote against this bill. The first is that it simply is not going to balance the budget. I have been here before. I remember in 1981 when we had a wizard by the name of Stockman. Now we have a different wizard, but the results are going to be the same. Mr. Stockman told the Congress just follow Reagan's lead, you can have it all, baby, you can cut the taxes, you can double military spending, and you will still balance the budget in 4 years, and you know what, they only missed by a couple hundred billion dollars. So then we had Gramm-Rudman No. 1, Gramm--Rudman No. 2, Gramm-Rudman No. 3, all multiyear promises, going to balance the budget, baby. And guess what happened? They missed three more times. Now we are in here with the fifth multiyear promise. And do not take my word for it, read the Wall Street Journal, that well-known left-wing newspaper. And what do they talk about? They talk about the fact that this package is back-loaded, small tax cuts to begin, huge tax cuts in the out years. I guarantee you, you are not going to see a balanced budget if we swallow this prescription. You are going to see mountains of debt. The second reason to vote against it, you have savage cuts to domestic programs. Do you really know what is going to happen to the National institutes of Health and the people who rely on it for medical research when you cut it by 5 percent and then freeze it for 5 years? You erode the purchasing power of medical research by 25 percent. What good is that going to do folks on Medicare and Medicaid, or any other citizen in this country who is looking to try to escape some of the most devastating illnesses in the world? The third reason to vote against this is simply because you do have these devastating cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Do you really believe the American public wants to see you make these kind of reductions so you can give big, fat tax cuts for people making between $75,000 and $200,000 a year? I do not think so. I would simply say this to the gentleman from Ohio, yes, you have to repair the Medicare trust fund. And yes, in the context of health care reform you can talk about reductions that go at waste and fraud, but I tell you, if anybody thinks you can cut this much out of Medicare and Medicaid without seriously damaging seniors, you are smoking something that ain't legal. You just cannot do it. The fourth point I would simply make is that all of these budget changes are going to make this country worse in terms of the equitable distribution of income growth. This chart shows that from 1950 to 1978 income growth in this country was shared across the income spectrum. Whether you were in the poorest fifth or richest fifth, you did pretty well. Everybody's income went up. Here is what has happened since then. Unless you belong in the top 20 percent of this society, you have barely kept up, and if you are in the middle and below, you have lost ground dramatically. These budget cuts, these cuts in Medicare, these cuts in Medicaid, these tax cuts that give two-thirds of the tax benefits to people making more than $70,000, and 1 percent of the benefits to people making less than $20,000, will make that gap worse. That is typical come to expect the republican Party to support prescriptions that largely benefit the wealthy. I hope that the Democratic Party will not follow suit, and I hope that well-meaning people on the Republican side will join us as well in opposing a plan which makes this situation much worse.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to salute an outstanding young woman who has been honored with the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. Gold Award by Birch Trails Girl Scout Council in my home town of Wausau, WI. She is Molly Olsen of Girl Scout Troop 291. She was honored on March 11, 1995 for earning the highest achievement award in Girl Scouting. The Girl Scout Gold Award symbolizes outstanding accomplishments in the areas of leadership, community service, career planning, and personal development. Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., an organization serving over 2.6 million girls, has awarded more than 20,000 Girl Scout Gold Awards to Senior Girl Scouts since the inception of the program in 1980. To receive the award, a Girl Scout must fulfill five requirements: earn four interest project patches, earn the Career Exploration pin, earn the Senior Girl Scout Leadership Award project, earn the Senior Girl Scout Challenge, and design and implement a Girl Scout Gold Award project. A plan for fulfilling the requirements of the award is created by the Senior Girl Scout and is carried out through close cooperation between the girl and an adult Girl Scout volunteer. As a member of the Birch Trails Girl Scout Council, Molly began working toward the Girl Scout Gold Award in 1994. She completed her project in the areas of Bat Education and Preservation. She worked countless hours researching the bat population and finding donations to build eight bat houses at Camp Del O'Claire. She also donated books about bats to the camp library in hope that girls will become more educated about the species. The earning of the Girl Scout Gold Award is a major accomplishment for Molly Olsen, and I believe she should receive the public recognition due her for this significant service to her community and her country.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will take just 1 minute, and then I am happy to yield back. I would simply say that I think we need to understand that what the Senate was able to do under moderate Republican leadership, what the Senate was able to do, is to reduce the cuts that were made in programs to seniors and programs for kids by making deeper reductions in pork items in the budget. It seems to me that moderate Republicans in the Senate have demonstrated they can produce a more civilized and more balanced bill and we ought to go along with that, with the exception of the three items I have laid out. And so I would urge adoption of the motion. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of our time.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me simply say that the new Republican leadership in the House has forced us to carefully take a look at a number of spending items and take a look at a lot of programs that needed reducing. That is good. But if other Members heard what I did in my district the last 3 weeks, the public is concerned that in some cases this House is going too fast and going too far. They are concerned that while they voted Republican in the last election, they are worried that this body is producing legislation which is too extreme, that it is doing things that are not well-advised, not well thought out, and not fairly targeted. I know that a lot of my Republican colleagues have responded by saying that they favor a more moderate course, and that they expect that the Senate will modify much of what the House has done to make it more moderate. This motion would give those colleagues a chance to put their votes where their words are, by supporting not a Democratic solution, but a modern Republican solution to the rescissions issues before us, moderate Republican position fashioned in the Senate that both parties can work from. I think the problem with the House bill is, as it left the House, well, there are a number of problems. First of all, as the bill left the House, despite the fact that it contained the Brewster amendment, which required that the dollars which are saved be used for deficit reduction, the House Republican leadership nonetheless said these cuts would be used to help finance their tax bill. That tax bill, among other things, provides benefits for people making up to $200,000 a year, and it finances those tax reductions by eliminating help that we give low-income seniors to pay their home heating bills, and it also pays for those tax reductions for people making $199,000 a year by cutting back on investments on our kids' education and training. That tax bill would also take us back to the good old days during which 47 of the largest corporations in this country paid not one dime in Federal taxes despite the fact that they made millions of dollars in profits. The House Republican leadership also insisted on continuing to allow the provision in the tax code which allows billionaires to escape taxation by renouncing their American citizenship. This motion simply suggests that we accept the Senate priorities in the conference with roughly three exceptions. First, we would require that the conference stick to the Brewster amendment, which requires every dollar in this package to be used for deficit reduction rather than being used for another purpose. Second, it would say absolutely no way will be accept the $100 million reduction in veterans' health care benefits which the Senate provided. We would insist on fully funding those programs. And, third, this proposal would not buy into automatically the Senate provision of aid to Jordan. We would leave that issue up to the conference. In essence, the Senate bill, fashioned in a bipartisan way, in a Republican-controlled body, is harder, much harder on pork than was the bill that left the House, and it is much kinder and gentler on kids and seniors. So in essence I would simply say this: The bottom line on this motion to instruct is simple. If Members do not want to guarantee true deficit reduction through the Brewster lockbox, vote against it. If Members do not want to protect veterans' programs, vote against it. If they want to cut kids and seniors instead of pork, vote against it. But if Members think that we ought to do those three things, then join us in being tougher on pork and easier on seniors and kids. Join us in supporting and insisting that we fully fund veterans' health programs, and most of all, join us in insisting that every dime of budget cuts that are produced in conference actually will go to deficit reduction rather than going to finance that turkey of a tax bill which the House passed just before we recessed.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. somewhat startled by the comment I just heard from my good friend from Louisiana. He indicated that the House would be most likely to accept the three Senate provisions that I have indicated we would not insist on supporting. Did the gentleman really mean that we are inclined to accept a $100 million reduction in appropriations for veterans' health care? Did he really mean that the House is inclined to accept the Senate language which guts the Brewster amendment which attempts to guarantee that the money would be used for deficit reduction rather than used to finance the tax package? If that is the case, then I think the gentleman outlines most clearly why we do need to support and vote for this recommittal motion, because I know very few Members certainly on this side of the aisle who would be comfortable with admitting ahead of time that they want the House to acquiesce in the Senate gutting of the Brewster amendment. And I certainly do not think I would, and for instance acquiesce in the reductions that were made in veterans' health care. So I think that outlines all the more reason to support the recommittal motion.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur].

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur].

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to make one additional point on the Jordan issue, in light of the comments made by the chairman. Let me put it this way, Mr. Speaker: I can recall when a previous President, President Bush, asked for bipartisan help to see to it that they could in fact move events forward in the Middle East by withholding funds for the Israel loan guarantee. That was not a popular position for President Bush to take in the Congress. At that time I supported President Bush strongly, because I thought that unless those loan guarantees were held up, we would never see a posture on the part of the Israeli Government with respect to the settlements issue that was consistent with American foreign policy. I would compare that bipartisan support of President Bush with the quite different approach taken by the other body, and especially the majority party in the other body on the issue of Jordan. We now have this President asking for help to again move the peace process forward by funding the commitment that the President made to Jordan when they agreed to follow along in this round on the peace process. But instead, what has happened is that we have had an insistence from the majority leader in the other body that funding for Jordan be taken out of this bill, where it belongs, and put into what is essentially a domestic rescission bill. What that will mean is that any Member who votes for that rescission bill will be asked to make cuts in domestic programs for kids and for seniors in order to fund debt relief for Jordan. I do not think that is a very smart thing to do tactically, I do not think that is the right thing to do substantively. It seems to me if we are going to provide that action for Jordan, that it belongs in this bill and it should be offset in this bill, because I am tired of seeing this Government make foreign policy decisions that wind up having domestic consequences that are negative for our constituents. Another example would be, for instance, the situation which we find ourselves in with respect to refugees, where the Federal Government will make agreements allowing refugees into this country, and then they will walk away from the obligation to support the financing of those refugees, and turn the obligation for that over to State and local governments. I do not think that is legitimate. I think foreign policy issues should be dealt with in foreign policy bills. That is why Jordan belongs in this bill. That is why Jordan belongs in this bill, not the other bill. However, I find it quaint that the administration asked a bipartisan group of people to go up to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue twice on last Thursday to talk about the necessity to keep Jordan funding in this bill, rather than moving it over to the other bill, and then we find out that without any notice whatsoever to anybody on this side of the Capitol, the administration decides, after all, they are going to acquiesce in putting it in the other bill. That is why I say that the administration apparently does not mind being jerked around. I do. It seems to me the next time the administration asks someone in the Congress to defend their position on a foreign policy issue in the Congress, it would be nice to know that we could find the administration where they were the last time we talked to them.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his statement, and I would say that I certainly recognize the value of the program that the Senate is trying to support, but it just seems to me that the worst thing one can do in a situation of tight budgets is to unfairly raise people's expectations about the ability of the Federal Government to fund yet another program when, in fact, we are making substantial reductions in programs that now do some very good things for a lot of people who need help. I share the gentleman's view on that point, and would simply observe that for all of the Members who voted for the motion to instruct, demanding that conferees come back with a bill which is essentially budget neutral and does not add to the deficit, we won our point, and I think that deserves recognition on our part on the conference report.