Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2508 - International Cooperation Act of 1991

(House Rules)
(Fascell (D) Florida and 19 others)

H.R. 2508, as reported by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, falls well short of the goals outlined by the President in his letter to the Speaker of the House endorsing the Administration's proposed "International Cooperation Act of 1991." In recognition of rapidly changing world events, the President sought to delete the many restrictions, prohibitions, burdensome and unnecessary reporting requirements, and statutory waiting periods that have accumulated over the several decades since enactment of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. H.R. 2508 does not meet these goals. If H.R. 2508 were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend a veto of the bill.

Of particular concern are two provisions that overturn the Administration's anti-abortion policy:

—   Section 1205 earmarks funding for the United Nations Population Fund, which participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.

—   Section 1206 reverses the Mexico City policy of denying U.S. foreign assistance to foreign nongovernmental organizations that promote abortion as a method of family planning.

The President has indicated that he would veto any legislation presented to him containing such provisions.

In addition, H.R. 2508 includes unworkable cargo preference requirements, contains numerous earmarks (more than 60 percent of the funds authorized), and imposes many country-specific conditions, notification requirements, and other restrictions. These would impede the Administration's ability to respond to changing circumstances, limit the President's flexibility in administering foreign aid programs, and decrease the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance.

H.R. 2508 includes several provisions that raise constitutional concerns, by infringing on the President's authority to conduct foreign relations. The bill also contains substantial new formal reporting requirements that would divert resources from productive pursuits to activities that appear to duplicate congressional oversight, especially an expanded global International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.

While H.R. 2508 does contain several components of the President's request which provide needed program flexibility, other essential provisions are absent or unacceptably revised. Even if sections 1205 and 1206 are deleted, the cumulative effect of the added requirements and missing or weakened Administration proposals would require the President's senior advisors to recommend a veto of the bill.