Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3732 - Budget Process Reform Act

(SENT 2/28/92)
(House Rules)
(Conyers (D) Michigan and 86 others)

If H.R. 3732 were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend a veto.

H.R. 3732 seeks to raise the legal cap on domestic discretionary spending by allowing the use of defense resources for this purpose. By so doing, it creates a political incentive to cut defense beyond the 30 percent cut that the President has recommended — and thereby threatens to put U.S. national security interests at risk.

The President has recommended that defense savings not be used to increase spending. If Congress were to abandon the mutually- agreed discipline of the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA), it could trouble financial markets, cause interest rates to rise, and thus prove counter-productive. That is, it could slow recovery and threaten job-creation.

The Administration urges the Rules Committee to allow Republicans a fair and equal opportunity to amend and debate this bill on the House floor.