Statement of Administration Policy: [H.R. 3814] - Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1997

(House Rules)
(Sponsors: Livingston (R), Louisiana; Rogers (R), Kentucky)

This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1997, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee. For the reasons discussed below, the President's senior advisers would recommend that the President veto the hill if it were presented to him in its current form.

The Administration strongly objects to the Committee's reductions to critical law enforcement, research and technology, international affairs, legal services, and other programs. Such reductions are unacceptable, and the bill requires significant improvements.

The Administration opposes the provision, discussed in more detail below, included in the bill that would limit the President's ability to negotiate issues and implement agreements related to the ABM Treaty that are important to the national security of the United States. This provision would infringe upon the President's ability to conduct foreign relations and is unacceptable.

Legal Services Corporation

The Administration strongly objects to the Committee's funding level of $141 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The bill would cut the Corporation's funding level by roughly 50 percent from last year's level of $278 million and is almost two-thirds below the FY 1995 level. It would provide approximately $200 million less than the President's request of $340 million. Further reductions in funding would deprive LSC of the resources it needs to carry out its mission, essentially bankrupting the Corporation and denying the neediest members of our society access to the Nation's judicial system.

In addition, the Administration notes that the bill contains many restrictions on the activities of LSC grantees that were contained in the FY 1996 appropriations act. The Administration continues to have serious concerns with these restrictions, particularly the restrictions on the use of funds from non-LSC sources.

Department of Commerce

The Committee cuts funding for the Department of Commerce by $800 million below the request and $100 million below the FY 1996 level. These reductions would significantly undermine the effectiveness of programs across the Department. The Administration has grave concerns about the amounts provided for advanced technology and manufacturing extension, described below, as well as additional concerns about the Committee's proposed funding levels for other programs, described in the enclosure.

The Committee bill disregards the bipartisan agreement reached last year to maintain the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). The Committee provides inadequate funding to support current commitments and includes language prohibiting new awards as well as applying other restrictions. ATP is a highly competitive, cost-shared program that fosters technology development, promotes industrial alliances, and creates jobs. The ATP program was created with bipartisan support, which it continues to deserve.

The Committee's funding level for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program would force the closure of several centers across the country. Large geographic areas and many of our Nation's 381,000 smaller manufacturers would be without access to valuable technical assistance. The Department of Commerce estimates that this assistance has produced over $1 billion in increased sales and cost reductions and over 13, 000 jobs. In addition, the Committee has not provided language that would allow Kansas and Michigan centers, which serve five States, to receive funding beyond the current six-year statutory limit.

The Administration is concerned about the lack of support for key environmental programs. The President's request includes increases for South Florida/Everglades Restoration, coastal pollution control, habitat conservation, global change monitoring and modeling, and the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program, none of which are funded by the Committee. In addition, the Committee has cut funding below the FY 1996 enacted level for ocean assessment programs (42-percent reduction), marine sanctuary management (15-percent reduction), endangered species recovery plans (46-percent reduction), and building sustainable fisheries. These actions would undermine NOAA's ability to manage and protect our Nation's ocean and coastal resources. Finally, the Administration supports the use of controlled access mechanisms in sustainable fisheries management and is concerned with the bill's proposed restrictions on such mechanisms.

While the Committee has provided additional resources to the Census Bureau, the amount provided is less than half of the requested increase. This reduction would seriously impair the ability of the Census Bureau to carry out its constitutional and statutory functions, such as the decennial census, the economic census, the census of governments, and efforts to bring the Nation's statistics into the 1990s. The Census Bureau would be forced to choose between equally critical demographic and economic measurement programs that would lead to a more expensive or less accurate Census and to less accurate economic statistics such as the GDP. Failure to provide increases would jeopardize efforts to implement the restructuring of the North American Industry Classification System, which has already been funded by Mexico and Canada.

Department of Justice

The Administration strongly opposes the funding level provided by the Committee for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The Committee mark would provide $ 1.4 billion for COPS but would earmark over $ 150 million for non-hiring initiatives. The Administration continues to believe that the President's request of $1.9 billion is the appropriate funding level for the COPS program. The Administration does not believe that the Committee bill keeps us on course for hiring 100, 000 additional police officers by the year 2000. Even the Committee's own Conference Report accompanying the FY 1996 Omnibus Appropriations Act indicated that a level of approximately $1.4 billion would be required to meet the goal of hiring 100, 000 police officers. The extensive set-asides included in the Committee bill would result in inadequate funding for hiring police officers. Further, the bill would freeze staffing levels at the FY 1996 level and not provide for the requested increase in management and administration in order to monitor this important program properly.

The Administration strongly opposes the Committee's $18 million funding level for the drug courts program. The drug courts program is a proven, cost-effective means of using the courts' authority to provide sanctions and coerce non-violent offenders into drug treatment programs. The Administration believes that the drug courts program should be funded at the $100 million level requested. The Administration also strongly opposes the Committee's termination and underfunding of the Administration's initiative to finance drug tests for Federal and State arrestees, respectively.

Both the COPS and the drug courts programs could be enhanced by reducing the funding level for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program and the increase over the President's request for Federal prison construction.

International Affairs

The Administration strongly opposes the provision included by the Committee that would infringe upon the ability of the Administration to negotiate issues related to the ABM Treaty with Russia and the other New Independent States of the former Soviet Union. The provision would prohibit the use of any funds in this or any other Act for ABM treaty negotiations with the Russians or other States of the former Soviet Union unless the President certifies that any amendments, understandings, or agreements related to the ABM and theater ballistic missiles and anti-ballistic missiles will be presented to the Senate for their advice and consent. This prohibition would also apply to the use of funds to implement any amendment, agreement, or understanding related to ABM theater missile defense demarcation or multilateralization of the Treaty. The Administration believes that this provision raises serious constitutional concerns. The Constitution commits to the President the authority to determine the manner in which diplomatic communications take place. Congress may not control, through a funding condition, the President's determination to conduct negotiations in a particular forum.

With regard to funding, the Administration opposes the levels provided by the Committee for the State Department's main operating accounts. In total, these activities are reduced by nearly $80 million from the President's request. The State Department's ability to modernize its antiquated information management systems and to maintain its overseas facilities in a safe, secure, and efficient manner would be jeopardized at this funding level. Restoration of this cut is necessary to maintain the Nation's foreign affairs infrastructure.

In addition, funding for international organizations and peacekeeping has been cut by over $260 million from the FY 1997 request, and no funds are provided for the U.S. to participate in international conferences. Although the Administration has worked diligently with some success to promote fiscal discipline and reform at the U.N. and other organizations, there is limited support in this bill for this effort. The Committee's underfunding of our international organization assessments will only increase aggregate arrears for these organizations and for assessed peacekeeping operations above the already outstanding amount of $1 billion. Despite these serious funding problems, the Administration appreciates the Committee's expressed support for U.S. leadership within a reformed United Nations and intends to continue discussions aimed at modifying the legislation in a manner that will further this shared goal.

The Administration is concerned about the reductions in the U.S. Information Agency's (USIA's) public diplomacy activities. Most importantly, the reduction in Salaries and Expenses and Broadcasting Operations accounts would jeopardize USIA's ability to perform its important role in promoting U.S. interests and understanding abroad. The Administration also strongly opposes the elimination of all funds in the bill for continuing the operation of TV Marti and urges that funding be restored.

Finally, funding for the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) has been reduced by $10 million from the FY 1997 request, which would severely impact continuing operations. It would jeopardize ACDA's capabilities to complete negotiations and to implement and support arms control and nonproliferation treaties, conferences, and organizations.

Ounce of Prevention Council

The Committee bill would eliminate funding for the Ounce of Prevention Council. The President's request of $9 million would allow the Council to award discretionary grants for various crime and substance abuse prevention programs. Elimination of this program would hinder the needed coordination of crime prevention efforts at the Federal level.

Small Business Administration (SBA) Business Loans

The Administration strongly urges the House to provide adequate funding to support the Administration's FY 1997 proposed volume of new 7(a) General Business Loan Guarantees. The Committee's mark for SBA business loans is $156 million less than the FY 1997 request of $316 million, a 49-percent reduction. This funding level would substantially reduce the 7(a) loan program level in FY 1997. In addition, the Committee's mark appears to provide no funding for SBA's 504 loan program. Unless legislation is passed that would reduce the cost of this program to zero, this funding level would shut down SBA's 504 loan program.

In addition to the concerns discussed above, the Administration has additional concerns with the bill that were detailed in a July 11th letter to the House Appropriations Committee.