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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 29, 1995

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

The President supports today's House vote to send the fiscal 1996 VA/HUD appropriations bill back to a House-Senate conference committee. This bill threatens public health and the environment, kills programs that are helping communities help themselves, and closes the door on college for thousands of young people.

The bill includes no funding for the President's National Service program, AmeriCorps, which is helping to rebuild communities while enabling the sons and daughters of working families to earn money for college. With its big cuts in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, this bill also would abandon the nation's bipartisan commitment to health and environmental protection. For HUD, the bill provides no funds to support economic development initiatives, and cuts the President's request nearly in half to bring down the most severely distressed housing projects.

As the House agreed in sending the measure back to committee, the bill provides inadequate funding for veterans' medical care. In addition it does not provide new funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions program, a key tool for bringing credit and growth to communities long left behind.

Clearly, this bill does not reflect the values of the American people. The President urges Congress to send him an appropriations bill which reflects these important priorities which reflect the values of the American people.

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