Statement on Signing the Supplemental Appropriations Act, FY 2001

Statement on Signing the Supplemental Appropriations Act, FY 2001

July 24, 2001

Today I signed into law H.R. 2216, the ``Supplemental Appropriations
Act, FY 2001,'' which provides funding for the Department of Defense and
other departments.
This important supplemental appropriation provides urgently needed
resources to enhance defense readiness and operations and maintenance;
to improve the morale of our service men and service women, and their
families; to provide needed home energy assistance for low-income
families; to aid victims of radiation exposures associated with the
Government's nuclear weapons testing program; to provide a U.S.
contribution for the global trust fund to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and
tuberculosis; and for other purposes.
I commend the Congress for expeditiously providing critical
resources needed to improve our support for our men and women in the
military while maintaining a strict fiscal discipline. The Congress
provided this additional funding within the budget agreement's
discretionary spending limits. The resources I requested for the
Department of Defense will help our military readiness and help lay the
groundwork for further strengthening

after Secretary Rumsfeld's ongoing strategy review.
I applaud the Congress for passing this bill without resorting to
the abusive use of the emergency designation. We have seen
``emergencies'' become a recurring part of the budget process, and
become magnets for special-interest, non-essential spending.
I will continue to work with the Congress and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) to see that FEMA meets its obligations to
perform its extremely important role of disaster relief in a thorough
and timely manner.
I hope the bipartisan approval of this bill is a harbinger of
improved, more orderly deliberations for the remainder of the FY 2002
appropriations process. The fiscal discipline demonstrated in this
Supplemental Appropriations Act, developed with collegiality and in a
timely manner, sets a standard for how the Congress should handle
spending bills for the next fiscal year.
George W. Bush
The White House,
July 24, 2001.