| This
Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on the Supplemental Appropriations Bill, FY 2001, as reported by the
House Committee. Your consideration of the Administration's views
would be appreciated.
The
Administration applauds the House's efforts to provide most of the
funding requested by the Administration and to stay within the discretionary
spending caps established by Congress last year. We would recommend
that the President sign a bill that is within the levels the discretionary
spending caps allow.
The
Administration does not intend to concur in the designation of $473
million in funding as an "emergency" in the bill. By definition,
emergency appropriations are intended to cover unforeseen events,
yet each of the requested items were fully anticipated in recent
months. Additional emergency supplemental appropriations should
be limited to extremely rare events, which do not include those
provided in this bill.
The
Administration strongly opposes the proposed rescission of $389
million in disaster relief funds for the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). FEMA is currently assessing the impact of Tropical
Storm Allison on Texas, Louisiana, and Florida and will likely need
to access additional funds to address current needs. The rescission
would eliminate much of the normal FEMA funding needed by the agency
to provide quick and effective assistance to disaster-stricken communities
and victims. The most recent disaster declarations highlight the
fact that these funds could be needed by FEMA to pay for natural
disasters occurring in FY 2001. The rescission could preclude prompt
assistance and possibly necessitate an otherwise unneeded emergency
bill at that point. Moreover, the unrequested funding in the bill
exceeds the savings from this rescission.
The
Administration is committed to working with the Congress to enact
the supplemental appropriations bill before the July 4th congressional
recess. We look forward to working with the House to address our
concerns.
|