Labor-HEW Continuing Appropriations Bill Statement on Signing H.J. Res. 662 Into Law.

I am pleased to sign into law H.J. Res. 662, which incorporates the FY 1978 appropriations for the Department of Labor, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Community Services Administration, and other agencies.

These departments and agencies perform services which directly or indirectly benefit the lives of every American, particularly the least fortunate among us. Public health, the education of the young, jobs and income security all depend heavily upon the programs supported by this legislation.

H.J. Res. 662 reflects some of the efforts which this administration undertook last February in its FY 1978 budget revisions, for it incorporates provisions which:

--expand the Job Corps by 14,000 positions;

--increase by 400,000 the number of college students receiving Basic Educational Opportunity Grants and raise the maximum award to $1,600 a year;

--provide funds to begin to ensure that every child in America is immunized against dangerous communicable diseases;

--provide additional funds to help residents of rural and inner-city areas get high-quality medical care through the National Health Service Corps.

In signing this resolution, I do want to express my concern about Section 208 of H.R. 7555, which the resolution incorporates. Section 208 places limits, with respect to student transportation, on the enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I have been advised by the Department of Justice that this section, in its application, may raise new and vexing constitutional questions, adding further complexities to an already complex area of law. Moreover, this section may cause additional expense and delay in resolving issues important to parents, students, and school administrators in numerous school systems throughout the country.