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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 12, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I am pleased that the Senate has passed a VA/HUD bill that will open the doors of opportunity in America for those who need it most, build on our agenda for national energy security and strengthen our commitment to the environment. With this legislation -- which includes key provisions negotiated by my budget team -- we take an important step toward addressing critical national priorities and opening the doors of opportunity for many more Americans.

This legislation builds upon my opportunity agenda with increased funding for economic development through Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities and Community Development Financial Institutions, all part of my New Markets Initiative, and with 79,000 new housing vouchers for low income families. This agreement also increases support for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency food and shelter programs which work with States and communities to help the homeless and hungry. We are also strengthening our commitment to national service with additional support for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the first increase since the inception of this critical volunteer agency in 1993.

With this legislation, we support the significant expansion of cutting-edge basic scientific research at the National Science Foundation. This includes research in nano-technology -- the manipulation of matter at the molecular and atomic level -- which holds the promise of scientific breakthroughs in a wide range of fields. It also advances scientific research through support for space exploration at NASA. At especially at this time of elevated fuel prices, I am also pleased that this bill provides resources for technologies to increase fuel efficiency, an essential part of our long- term strategy to reduce dependence on oil.

This agreement also contains increased funding for enforcement of the nation's environmental laws and for the cleanup of polluted waterways. The agreement we reached drops or fixes several objectionable riders that threatened to harm our environment. Yet, while we were able to ameliorate the impact of the remaining riders, we were not able to rid this bill entirely of objectionable provisions, in particular the rider relating to ozone.

This agreement also provides the additional $1.5 billion I requested for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest increase ever requested by any Administration. This funding will support efforts to improve veterans' medical care and the delivery of key services, including disability benefits.

This agreement is clear proof of the progress we can achieve when we work together to address the nation's priorities.

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