THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release October 2,
2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Today, Congress passed a deeply flawed Energy/Water appropriations
bill that threatens major environmental harm by blocking our efforts to
modernize operations on the Missouri River. An anti-environmental rider
attached to the bill would not only jeopardize the survival of three
threatened and endangered species, but would also establish a dangerous
precedent aimed at barring a federal agency from obeying one of our
nation?s landmark environmental statutes. Accordingly, I will veto this
bill when it reaches my desk.
While this bill funds scores of special projects for special
interests, it fails to provide sufficient funding for priorities in the
national interest -- including environmental restoration of the Florida
Everglades and the California Bay-Delta, and our strategy to restore
endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest. It also fails to fund efforts
to research and develop non-polluting sources of energy through solar and
renewable technologies that are vital to America?s energy security.
I urge Congress to resolve these issues in an environmentally sound
manner and to quickly produce an Energy/Water bill I can sign. While we
are now in the first week of the new fiscal year, Congress still has sent
me only two of the 13 appropriations bills. Congress should complete its
work without delay.
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