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Statement on Signing the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions for the Department of Defense to Preserve and Enhance Military Readiness Act of 1995

April 10, 1995

Today I have signed into law H.R. 889, an Act "Making emergency supplemental appropriations and rescissions to preserve and enhance the military readiness of the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and for other purposes."

I commend the Congress for its action on my request to replenish the Department of Defense for funds used to perform contingency operations in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, and elsewhere. These funds are required to ensure that our forces are provided the resources they need to continue their superb performance.

I also commend the Congress for recognizing that to maintain peace in today's world, we must continue our investments in a number of key nonmilitary programs. I commend the Congress for making certain that the United States is able to fulfill its promise to the Russians that is linked to their removal of troops from the Baltics. The Nunn-Lugar program was also spared from reductions that would seriously impair its effectiveness. In addition to enabling continued progress in dismantling the weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, the Nunn-Lugar program helps ensure that personnel in the strategic rocket forces of the former Soviet Union do not become a source of instability.

Although funding for debt forgiveness linked to the historic peace agreement between Jordan and Israel was removed from this bill, it remains urgent that the Congress pass debt relief for Jordan as part of legislation that can be signed into law. This agreement has improved prospects for overall peace in the region markedly, and I urge the Congress to support this American promise.

Regrettably, rescissions will reduce some of my Administration's technology priorities, which serve as a foundation for America's future competitiveness and national security. Nevertheless, reductions in this Act are less than those in earlier versions of the bill. The Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), Advanced Technology Program (ATP), and National Information Infrastructure grants program will remain vital components of my Administration's technology-related initiatives.

Despite my Administration's objections, the Act contains a provision that will rescind $1.5 million for listing threatened and endangered species and determining critical habitats needed for the recovery of such species, while imposing a moratorium until the end of this fiscal year on the remaining funds. As a result, these provisions will impair the Administration's ability to proceed on its recently announced package of reform principles and consequently, our ability to respond to the needs and concerns of private landowners.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

The White House,

April 10, 1995.

NOTE: H.R. 889, approved April 10, was assigned Public Law No. 104-6.

William J. Clinton, Statement on Signing the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions for the Department of Defense to Preserve and Enhance Military Readiness Act of 1995 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/220718

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