Statement on Signing the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995

Today I have signed into law H.R. 4602, the "Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995."

H.R. 4602 provides funds for various programs of the Departments of the Interior and Energy, the Forest Service (Department of Agriculture), and the Indian Health Service (Department of Health and Human Services). Funding for various independent agencies such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities is also included.

The Act provides important funding to further the protection and rehabilitation of America's inventory of natural and cultural assets, including our national parks and forests.

I am pleased that the Act includes funding to support a number of my energy conservation initiatives. These investments are important for our Nation's energy and environmental future.

The Act also provides $200 million in additional emergency funding for Forest Service firefighting activities and $250 million in additional contingent emergency firefighting funds, reflecting the severe 1994 fire season affecting national forests in many western States.

There are several provisions in the Act that purport to require congressional approval before executive branch execution of aspects of the bill. The Administration will interpret such provisos to require notification only, since any other interpretation would contradict the Supreme Court ruling in INS vs. Chadha.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

The White House, September 30, 1994.