THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release October 17, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Today I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 4365, the "Children?s Health
Act of 2000." This legislation authorizes expanded research and services
for a wide variety of childhood and prenatal health problems, reauthor-izes
programs of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and
addresses the problem of substance abuse and associated violence.
This Act calls on HHS to continue providing services to children whose
lives have been affected by diseases such as diabetes, asthma, lead
poisoning, cancer, and autism, and to expand research in these and other
areas such as birth defects and brain injuries so that we can better
understand their causes and develop treatments. I am pleased that H.R.
4365 authorizes a new research effort, a national long-term study of
environ-mental influences on children?s health and development, that will
provide critical information about environmental, social, and economic
factors that affect children?s health. We hope that with increased
understanding of children?s diseases, we will get closer to ultimately
finding cures or preventing these conditions from ever occurring. I am
gratified to see that this bill's focus on children?s health addresses
several priority areas identified by the President?s Task Force on
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children.
I am also pleased that H.R. 4365 authorizes new funds to improve the
health and safety of children in child care. Avail-able, affordable, safe,
high-quality child care is a concern for any working parent. I have
committed my Administration to achieving this goal, and today we are making
substantial strides forward.
As a Nation, we continue to face the challenges of curbing substance
abuse, especially among our youth, preventing youth violence, and
addressing the mental health needs of our citizens.
For this reason, I am especially proud of the comprehensive manner in
which this legislation addresses illegal drug abuse, beginning with the
reauthorization of SAMHSA. The Act will improve mental health and
substance abuse services for children and adolescents by authorizing grants
for youth drug treatment and early inter-vention, suicide prevention, and
programs to help children deal with violence, and will address the mental
health needs of individuals in the criminal justice system. The bill also
lays the groundwork for giving States even more flexibility in the use of
block grant funds in exchange for greater accountability.
This bill includes a provision making clear that religious organizations
may qualify for SAMHSA's substance abuse prevention and treatment grants on
the same basis as other nonprofit organi-za-tions. The Department of
Justice advises, however, that this provision would be unconstitutional to
the extent that it were construed to permit governmental funding of
organizations that do not or cannot separate their religious activities
from their substance abuse treatment and prevention activities that are
supported by SAMHSA aid. Accordingly, I construe the Act as forbidding the
funding of such organizations and as permitting Federal, State, and local
governments involved in disbursing SAMHSA funds to take into account the
structure and operations of a religious organization in determining whether
such an organization is constitutionally and statutorily eligible to
receive funding.
The Act also builds upon our ongoing efforts to address the emerging
threats posed by methamphetamine and Ecstasy use, especially among our
Nation?s youth. It makes medical treatments for heroin addiction more
available and accessible by allowing qualified physicians to prescribe
certain medications in their offices, and avoids the centralized clinic
approach that many addicts find inaccessible and stigmatizing. In addition
to expanding drug treatment, including innovations in medication
development, the bill supports increased resources for drug programs in the
criminal and juvenile justice systems. This legislation also supports our
law enforcement entities as they carry out their responsibilities to make
certain that those who traffic in these deadly poisons are taken off the
streets and are punished in a manner commensurate with the seriousness of
their offenses.
The programs contained in this bill to improve and expand research and
services for our children?s physical and mental health, and to prevent
substance abuse and violence, are important investments in the well-being
of our Nation. For these reasons, I am pleased to sign H.R. 4365.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
October 17, 2000.
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