Statement on Signing the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Transfers, Urgent Supplementals, and Correcting Enrollment Errors Act of 1989

Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2402, the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Transfers, Urgent Supplementals, and Correcting Enrollment Errors Act of 1989.

The bill provides emergency funding for several mandatory programs, including Veterans Compensation and Pension programs; Food Stamps; Guaranteed Student Loans; Foster Care; and firefighting programs. The bill also provides emergency funding for several discretionary programs, such as Veterans Medical Care; refugee programs; and U.N. Peacekeeping activities.

I am especially pleased that this bill will provide the long overdue additional funding for our Nation's veterans, particularly for the Veterans Medical Care program. The additional funds will be used to provide for more service to veterans at outpatient clinics; to treat more veterans in nursing homes; and to increase purchases of capital equipment, prosthetic appliances, and a variety of medical supplies.

I want to take this opportunity to commend the Congress for keeping the funding levels in this bill within acceptable bounds. The House, the Senate, and the Administration reached a satisfactory compromise that funds "dire emergencies" while also attending to our mutual responsibility to restore fiscal discipline.

George Bush

The White House,

June 30, 1989.