Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2099 - VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1996

(House Floor)
(sponsors: Rep. Lewis (CA); Senator Bond (MO)

This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on H.R. 2099, the VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill.

The President will veto this bill, if presented to him in its current form.

The bill provides insufficient funds to support the important activities covered by this bill. It would threaten public health and the environment, end programs that are helping communities help themselves, close the door on college for thousands of young people, and leave veterans seeking medical care with fewer treatment options.

The Conference Report includes no funds for the President's successful national service program. If such funding is eliminated, the bill would cost nearly 50,000 young Americans the opportunity to help their community, through AmeriCorps, to address vital local needs such as health care, crime prevention, and education while earning a monetary award to help them pursue additional education or training. The President will not sign any version of this appropriations bill that does not restore funds for this vital program.

This bill includes a 22 percent cut in requested funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, including a 25 percent cut in enforcement that is designed to cripple EPA efforts to enforce laws against polluters. Particularly objectionable is the bill's 25 percent cut in Superfund, which would result in the continued exposure of hundreds of thousands of citizens to dangerous chemicals.

The bill also includes legislative riders that were tacked onto the bill without any hearings or adequate public input, including one that would prevent BPA from exercising its legislative authority under the Clean Water Act to prevent wetlands losses.

The Administration is also concerned about the $762 million reduction in funds that were requested to go directly to the States and needy cities for clean water and drinking water needs, such as assistance to clean up Boston Harbor.

Finally, the Administration strongly opposes the bill's more than 50 percent cut for the Council for Environmental Quality. Such a reduction would severely hamper their ability to provide the President with advice on environmental policy and carry out its responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The bill provides no new funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions program, an important initiative for bringing credit and growth to communities long left behind.

While the bill provides spending authority for several important initiatives of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including Community Development Block Grants and the sale of HUD-owned properties, it lacks funding for other important areas. It provides no funds to support economic development initiatives, it has insufficient funds for incremental rental vouchers, and it cuts the President's request almost in half for bringing down the most severely distressed housing projects. Also, the bill contains harmful riders that would transfer HUD's Fair Housing activities to the Justice Department, and eliminate federal preferences in the section 8 tenant-based program.

The bill provides $397 million less than the President requested for veterans' medical care which will leave many veterans untreated. The bill also makes a significant cut in funding for the Secretary that appears targeted at impeding him from carrying out his duties as an advocate for veterans throughout the country.

In addition, the Administration would like to work with the Congress to address the other concerns that were outlined in conferees letter of November 6, 1995.

Clearly, this bill does not reflect the values that Americans hold dear. The President urges Congress to send him an appropriations bill for these important priorities that truly serves the American people.