For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 14, 2003

Statement on H.R. 2474
Statement by the President

Today I am signing into law H.R. 2474, which would permit the Congressional Hunger Center to spend up to $3 million in funds appropriated for each of fiscal years 2003 and 2004 to provide Bill Emerson and Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowships.

Upon signing the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 on May 13, 2002, I stated that the method of appointing members to the Board of Trustees for the Hunger Fellowship Program runs afoul of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The current legislation does not adequately address this constitutional problem, in that it simply provides that the Hunger Fellowship Program will be administered for 2 years by a private, nonprofit corporation, the Congressional Hunger Center. Again, I remain prepared to work with the Congress on legislation that will provide a long-term solution for this constitutional infirmity. To avoid any constitutional concerns stemming from the provision of funds to the Congressional Hunger Center, I instruct the head of the department to whose agency these funds are appropriated to treat the money as a grant and ensure the Center's compliance with the terms of its grant.

GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 14, 2003.

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