FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 6, 2000
Contact: ACF Office of Public Affairs (202) 401-9215
PRESIDENT
CLINTON CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION
ON SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING, PROGRESS ON AMERICA'S AGENDA
Reduced Air Safety Inspections And Air Traffic Control System Maintenance:
Without $77 million in additional funding contained in the President's
request, the FAA will have to complete the summer travel season without
hiring 170 safety inspectors, resulting in 10,000 fewer safety inspections
and 100 fewer substance abuse inspections. Continued Congressional delay
would also force the FAA to reduce maintenance of critical air traffic
control systems, which will cause more system outages and increased
flight delays during peak vacation times.
- Delayed Relief To Victims Of Hurricane
Floyd: In September 1999 Hurricane Floyd destroyed homes, farms
and businesses along the east coast, hitting North Carolina especially
hard. Thousands of disaster victims are still waiting for promised
assistance. The President's supplemental request contains $347 million
to allow families to move or rebuild, help farmers replace equipment
and buildings lost in the storm, and help small businesses repair
damage. Further delays could postpone home construction until next
spring, forcing families to spend a second winter in trailers or temporary
shelters and preventing farmers from producing a successful crop again
this year. The request contains housing assistance for up to 10,000
households through FEMA, HUD and the Department of Agriculture.
- Insufficient Firefighting Resources
on National Parks and Public Lands: Department of Interior funding
to fight fires will be exhausted by mid-June, just as peak fire season
is beginning. The President has supported another $200 million to
maintain the ability to respond to fires on National Parks and other
public lands, and complete emergency rehabilitation tasks for this
year and next.
- No emergency LIHEAP Cooling Assistance
for Low Income Families: Winter fuel needs exhausted the emergency
reserve for low-income heating and cooling assistance. The National
Weather Service is predicting a hotter than average summer, but there
is no emergency fund to provide cooling assistance for low income
and elderly Americans. The President requested $600 million for LIHEAP
to protect vulnerable low-income individuals from heat-related illness
and death.
- Weakened Anti-Drug Efforts in Colombia:
Colombia supplies 80 percent of the cocaine entering the U.S. The
President's request for $955 million to support Colombia's sweeping
anti-drug efforts has been pending for four months, restricting counter
narcotics efforts in Colombia to small operations and giving drug
traffickers an upper hand in the area. Congress' lack of support has
been a setback to the international anti-drug effort, hampered Colombia's
domestic reforms and economic recovery. Further delays will weaken
the Colombian government and erode U.S. credibility in the global
counter-narcotics battle while strengthening illegal armed groups
and drug kingpins.
- Delaying International Debt Relief:
Last year, the United States led the way in reaching an historic international
agreement to provide greatly expanded relief to heavily indebted poor
countries in order to help them reduce poverty. The President has
requested $210 million to finance our participation in a global initiative
that leverages $20 in foreign contributions for every dollar we contribute.
While Congress fails to act, countries undertaking reforms in Latin
America and Africa are likely to continue paying millions in interest
to foreign creditors rather than investing in the health and education
of their people. In many of these countries, one in ten children dies
before their first birthday, one in three is malnourished, and the
average adult has had only three years of education.
- Insufficient Funding for Military
Readiness and American Troops in Kosovo: The Department of Defense
has already been forced to take extraordinary action to avert a funding
crisis because Congress failed to make the $2.7 billion requested
by the President available in April. If Congress does not approve
funds this month, the Army and other services will likely have to
curtail training, damaging the readiness, capability and morale of
our armed forces. The President's supplemental request also contains
vital funding to support American troops in Kosovo.
Complete Work on America's Priorities
President Clinton will also call on Republican
Congressional leaders to move forward on five key priorities. In many
cases, Congress has answered the President's request to act on these
items on a bipartisan basis, only to see progress blocked and the interests
of the American people take a back seat to powerful lobbyists and special
interests. The President will call on Congress to use the weeks ahead
to complete work on the following measures:
- Raise The Minimum Wage: Congress
has delayed increasing the minimum wage for over a year by attaching
costly and unnecessary tax cuts to this long-overdue measure. Each
day Congress delays, it takes money out of the paychecks of 10 million
minimum wage workers, many who are moving from welfare to work. The
minimum wage has not been increased in nearly four years. It now enjoys
broad bipartisan support and should not be held hostage to an irresponsible
tax cut aimed at helping special interests.
- Pass Permanent Normal Trade Relations
for China: The House passed permanent normal trade relations in
May. Now the Senate should clear this bill for the President's signature.
Granting permanent normal trade relations, along with China's entry
in the WTO, will open China's markets to the United States and will
promote the cause of openness, reform and accountability in China.
While China's entry into the WTO will slash barriers to the sale of
American goods and services in the world's most populous country,
the United States will be required simply to continue the trade policies
that it already applies to China. The agreement is a clear win for
American farmers, workers, manufacturers and high-tech businesses.
- Complete A Meaningful Patient's
Bill Of Rights: Over nine months ago, the House passed the Norwood-Dingell
Patient's Bill of Rights with overwhelming bipartisan support. However,
Republican Congressional leaders have stalled action. The delay has
resulted in unnecessary harm to thousands of patients whose insurance
companies refuse to pay for tests or diagnostic procedures, fail to
cover a prescription drug, or refuse to allow a doctor to refer the
patient to a specialist. Congress has just a few weeks remaining to
demonstrate that the interests of patients and doctors come before
insurance company profits by passing a meaningful bipartisan Patient's
Bill of Rights.
- Provide Affordable, Voluntary Medicare
Prescription Drug Coverage For All Beneficiaries: Medicare beneficiaries
face prescription drug costs that are increasing at double the rate
of inflation, and a growing number of seniors are finding themselves
with inadequate prescription drug coverage or none at all. Congress
should act now to provide an affordable coverage option before even
more seniors are forced to choose between food and prescription drugs
for all beneficiaries.
- Approve Common Sense Gun Safety
Legislation: Sensible gun safety legislation has languished in
Congress for nearly a year, while an estimated 30,000 Americans have
lost their lives to gun violence. In May 1999 the Senate passed common
sense gun safety measures, with Vice President Gore casting the tie-breaking
vote. Since then, Republican Congressional leaders have delayed and
bottled up this legislation at the behest of the gun lobby. The President
will call on Congress to come to consensus on a bill that closes the
gun show loophole, requires child safety locks to be sold with handguns,
bans the importation of large capacity ammunition clips and prevents
violent juvenile offenders from buying guns as adults.
- Pass A Fiscally Responsible Budget
That Invests In Our Priorities: The President proposed a balanced
and fiscally responsible budget that makes investments in key priorities
for the American people. The President's budget includes important
investments in education, including funds to modernize 6,000 schools,
continue the effort to hire 100,000 quality teachers to reduce class
size, expand our efforts to identify and turn around failing schools,
and increase accountability. However, in order to pay for fiscally
irresponsible tax cuts, Congressional Republicans have cut $24 billion
from the President's domestic priorities. This would result in fewer
quality teachers for schools, fewer law enforcement officers and prosecutors
to fight crime, reduced environmental protection, and less funding
for National Science Foundation research. This year, as he has for
the past seven, President Clinton will insist that Congress produce
a responsible budget that honors our values and invests in the American
people.
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