Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1561 - American Overseas Interest Act of 1995

(House Floor)
(Gilman (R) New York)

If H.R. 1561 were presented to the President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID), the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA), and the Director of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) would recommend that the bill be vetoed.

H.R. 1561 would seriously undermine the President's prerogatives and authorities to carry out U.S. foreign policy, and deprive the United States of the resources necessary to exercise leadership in addressing the complex challenges of the post-cold War world.

Among its most objectionable provisions, H.R. 1561 would:

Impose Unnecessary Foreign Policy and Other Restrictions. H.R. 1561 imposes numerous unnecessary restrictions on the ability of the President to conduct American foreign policy. Some of these restrictions would also unacceptably infringe on the President's constitutional authorities. Restrictions and limitations on the President's Contingency and Special Authorities would hamper the ability of the United States to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. Limits on U.N. participation and funding would severely undermine U.S. leadership in the multilateral system.

Further restrictions would inhibit achievement of important foreign policy goals, such as: implementing and funding the Framework Agreement with North Korea; maintaining a stable relationship with China; debt reduction for the poorest countries; implementing the Comprehensive Plan of Action for Indochinese refugees; stemming illegal alien smuggling; eliminating country-specific restrictions such as those on humanitarian and other assistance to Nicaragua; democracy building and market reform in Russia; and funding family planning activities. The bill would also establish numerous overly broad or otherwise counterproductive conditions on the ability to provide foreign assistance and conduct related programs.

Eliminate Three Foreign Affairs Agencies. The Administration is proceeding vigorously with its efforts to streamline AID, ACDA, USIA, and the Department of State. Under the Administration's streamlining efforts, the foreign affairs agencies are reducing staffing by 4,700 positions, cutting bureaucratic layers and duplication, eliminating low-priority posts and programs, re-engineering their business processes, establishing common administrative services, and realizing program and administrative savings.

By contrast, the approach of H.R. 1561 — requiring consolidation of AID, ACDA, and USIA into a "Super" State Department — is seriously flawed. The resulting megabureaucracy would be unwieldy, costly, and ineffective, and would seriously impair the conduct of U.S. foreign policy.

Reduce Foreign Affairs Authorization Levels. The FY 1996 International Affairs budget request, which accounts for 1.3 percent of total Federal spending, is essential to advancing U.S. foreign policy goals. H.R. 1561 authorizes programs at significantly reduced levels with many earmarks and limitations, which would damage the Administration's ability to protect America's security, economic, and other interests around the world. This diminution of U.S. global leadership, which this bill endorses, is short-sighted and dangerous. The safety and interests of all Americans, as well as those of future generations, relies on the constancy and active engagement of this country in global affairs to foster a safe and open world community.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 1561 would affect receipts and direct spending; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may differ from these estimates.

PAY-AS-YOU-GO ESTIMATES
($ in millions)