pd09oc95 Proclamation 6833--National Children's Day, 1995...

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Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
 
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
 
Statement on Signing the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996

October 3, 1995

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 1817, the ``Military Construction 
Appropriations Act, FY 1996,'' which provides funding for military 
construction and family housing programs of the Department of Defense.
    I am pleased that the Act provides my full request for the vast 
majority of military construction projects, the military family housing 
program, other quality of life facilities for our military personnel and 
their families, and the Defense Department base closure and realignment 
program. Especially noteworthy, the bill funds my request for the 
Defense Department Family Housing Improvement Fund, which will give the 
Department a new vehicle for acquiring and improving military housing 
and supporting facilities more quickly and at lower cost than with 
conventional funding and acquisition methods.
    Although I am disappointed that the Act provides more funding than 
requested, most of the unrequested appropriations are for legitimate 
defense requirements. Funding was provided in FY 1996 rather than in 
future years.
    I am concerned, however, that Congress has chosen to spend $70 
million on unneeded projects. The Defense Department has not identified 
these projects as priorities, and they will not help improve the quality 
of life for our service members. These projects are clear examples of 
why the President needs line-item veto authority. The taxpayers deserve 
protection from this kind of wasteful spending, and if I had the line-
item veto, I

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would use it to strike this $70 million. Unfortunately, Congress still 
has not completed action on legislation to provide the President with 
line-item veto authority. The American people have waited long enough. I 
strongly urge the Congress to complete action on line-item veto 
legislation now so I can eliminate wasteful spending this year.
    The American people sent us here to change the way Washington does 
business. Passing the line-item veto would be a good place for this 
Congress to start.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 3, 1995.

Note: H.R. 1817, approved October 3, was assigned Public Law No. 104-32.


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[Page 1762]
 
Monday, October 9, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
 
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
 
Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval the 
Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, FY 1996

October 3, 1995

To the House of Representatives:

    I am returning today without my approval H.R. 1854, the 
``Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, FY 1996.''
    H.R. 1854 is, in fact, a disciplined bill, one that I would sign 
under different circumstances. But, at this point, Congress has 
completed action on only two of the 13 FY 1996 appropriations bills: 
this one and H.R. 1817, the Military Construction appropriations bill. 
Thus, the vast majority of Federal activities lack final FY 1996 funding 
and are operating under a short-term continuing resolution.
    I appreciate the willingness of Congress to work with my 
Administration to produce an acceptable short-term continuing resolution 
before completing action on the regular, full-year appropriations bills 
for FY 1996. I believe, however, that it would be inappropriate to 
provide full-year regular funding for Congress and its offices while 
funding for most other activities of Government remains incomplete, 
unresolved, and uncertain.
    As I said two months ago, I don't think Congress should take care of 
its own business before it takes care of the people's business. I stated 
that if the congressional leadership were to follow through on its plan 
to send me its own funding bill before finishing work on the rest of the 
budget, I would veto it. I am now following through on that commitment.
    I urge the Congress to move forward promptly on completing the FY 
1996 appropriations bills in a form that I can accept.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 3, 1995.


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[Page 1762-1764]
 
Monday, October 9, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
 
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
 
Remarks Welcoming Pope John Paul II in Newark, New Jersey

October 4, 1995

    Archbishop McCarrick, Archbishop Cacciavillan, Cardinal Keeler, 
Father Theroux, the members of the Cabinet, the Members of the Congress, 
Governor Whitman, Mayor James, honored guests: Your Holiness, it is a 
great pleasure and an honor to welcome you back to the United States.
    You seemed to bring us the rain, but we need the rain, and we thank 
you for that. Your return has been greatly anticipated by the American 
people, and as you have gathered from the welcome of the children and 
the not-so-young, all Americans are very, very happy to see you.
    This is our third opportunity to visit. I look forward to our 
discussion, and I am grateful that your voice--for peace and hope and 
for the values that support every family and the family of humanity.
    On this, your fourth visit to our Nation, you will see an America 
striving to build on our ideals of peace and charity, justice, and 
tolerance. When you visit the United Nations and you speak to the 
General Assembly you will be retracing the steps of Pope Paul VI in his 
visit to the United States which began 30 years ago this day. He became 
the first Pontiff to visit our beloved country when he spoke to the 
United Nations in the name of peace.
    The Catholic faithful here in America have always taken an active 
role in making our country better. The Catholic Church helps the poor, 
the children, the elderly, the afflicted, and our families. You will see 
their

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handiwork here in the city of Newark and throughout your visit. The 
Church has given life to the idea that in the human community we all 
have obligations to one another. This idea is rooted in Church 
institutions, including thousands of charitable activities, the Catholic 
Charities, the Campaign for Human Development, the network of Catholic 
hospitals, and other agencies that help all Americans, and of course, it 
is rooted in the 9,000 Catholic elementary and high schools, and more 
than 200 Catholic colleges here in the United States. And they too, 
thankfully, serve all Americans.
    As distinct as Catholicism is, it shares something with many other 
faiths in our Nation, the unshakable values that are at the core of our 
society that hold us together as a country. We Americans are a people of 
faith, expressed in many ways. With the most diverse population on 
Earth, our Nation counts more religions than any other, more than 1,500, 
and more places of worship than any other. Indeed, even as we gather 
here now, many of our fellow citizens are in their synagogues fasting 
and observing the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, the 
day of atonement.
    Our great American poet, Walt Whitman, who I know is a favorite of 
yours, once wrote about America, ``The real and permanent grandeur of 
these States must be their religion. Otherwise, there is no real and 
permanent grandeur.'' That is the America that awaits you and your 
visit, Your Holiness. Our faith matters to us as individuals and as 
families. Our faith supports our families, strengthens them, and keeps 
them together.
    Your Holiness, you have written and spoken so eloquently of family 
rights, and women and men everywhere welcomed your recent open letter on 
the dignity and rights of women. The First Lady and I thank you, 
especially, for the words of support from the Holy See regarding her 
speech on the rights of families, women, and their children, at the 
recent Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Your words supported the 
statement she made on behalf of all Americans, that if women are healthy 
and educated, free from violence, if they have a chance to work and earn 
as full and equal partners, their families will flourish. And when 
families flourish, communities and nations will flourish.
    We know that if we value our families, as we must, public policy 
must also support them. It must see to it that children live free of 
poverty with the opportunity of a good and decent education. If we value 
our families, we must let them know the dignity of work with decent 
wages. If we value our families, we must care for them across the 
generations from the oldest to the youngest.
    Your Holiness, it is most fitting that you have arrived to be with 
us today on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the champion of the 
poor, the defender of the defenseless. His prayer, carried to this day 
in the pockets, the purses, the billfolds of many American Catholics, 
and revered by many who are not Catholics, is a simple clarion to unity. 
It begins: ``Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is 
hatred, let me so love.'' Today, these words hold special meaning for 
us, for with God's help, we recently celebrated the advance of peace in 
the Middle East, and we are trying, earnestly, with your support, to 
knock on the door of peace in Bosnia.
    We see peace advancing in Northern Ireland, in Haiti, in Southern 
Africa. All this has been an answer to many, many prayers around the 
world, but many of them were led by you, Holy Father, and for that, you 
have the gratitude of all the American people.
    On the threshold of a new millennium, more than ever, we need your 
message of faith and family, community and peace. That is what we must 
work toward for millions of reasons, as many reasons as there are 
children on this Earth.
    It has been said that you can see the future by looking into the 
eyes of a child. Well, we are joined here today by 2,000 children, from 
the Archdiocese of Newark and surrounding parishes. Your Holiness, 
looking out at them now and into their eyes, we can see that the future 
is very bright indeed. For them and for all Americans, we thank you, 
Holy Father, for coming back to the United States, and we welcome you.

Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. at Newark International Airport. 
In his remarks, he referred to Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, Arch- 

[[Page 1764]]

bishop of Newark; Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pronuncio 
to the United States; William Cardinal Keeler, president, National 
Conference of Bishops; Father Paul Theroux, national coordinator for the 
Papal visit; Gov. Christine T. Whitman of New Jersey; and Mayor Sharpe 
James of Newark.


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[Page 1764]
 
Monday, October 9, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
 
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
 
Proclamation 6830--Energy Awareness Month, 1995

October 4, 1995

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Although we tend to focus on energy issues only in times of crisis, 
Americans should not underestimate the daily impact of a clean, safe, 
affordable energy supply on maintaining our standard of living, 
protecting the environment, and ensuring our national defense. In the 
past 3 decades alone, disruptions in global oil markets and dramatic 
price shocks have caused international strife and economic recession. 
Energy choices affect air and water pollution; nuclear, toxic, and other 
waste disposal present potential hazards; and energy use can influence 
our precious wilderness and natural ecosystems.
    As we observe Energy Awareness Month, 1995, this year's theme, 
``Energy Fuels Our Future,'' is a powerful reminder of the need to build 
a strong foundation of sustainable energy policies that will benefit the 
generations to come. We can be proud of the United States' efforts 
toward this end. In every critical sector of society--commercial and 
residential development, transportation, industry, utility management, 
and government--we have improved efficiency and reduced the 
environmental impact of energy production and consumption.
    Our challenge today is to continue this work, and my Administration 
remains committed to the responsible use of existing resources and the 
progress of innovative technology. We have many objectives--enhancing 
the competitiveness of our Nation's oil producers, expanding the role of 
domestically produced natural gas, encouraging the development of 
renewable energy resources, minimizing the environmental impact of coal 
use, and supervising the safe contribution of nuclear energy. As we seek 
to strengthen our economy and ease the burden of energy use on the 
global environment, let us work together toward these vital goals.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 
1995 as ``Energy Awareness Month.'' I call upon government officials, 
educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this month 
with appropriate activities recognizing the central importance of energy 
use in our lives and to the future of our world.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:32 p.m., October 4, 
1995]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
6.


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[Page 1764-1765]
 
Monday, October 9, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788

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