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Clinton signs

long-overdue

1996 budget bill

WASHINGTON: With the current fiscal year more than half over, President Bill Clinton on Friday signed into law the 1996 budget bill, ending a fight with congressional Republicans that twice shut down the government.

In a written statement on the compromise plan that ended the 16-month battle over this year's spending and taxing priorities, Clinton blamed congressional Republicans for the standoffs that led to an unprecedented two partial government shutdowns.

"Rather than move quickly to reach a compromise such as the one achieved with this legislation, the Congress shut the government down twice and then I had to sign a record 13 continuing resolutions (temporary spending bills) funding the government," Clinton said.

He said the compromise bill helps the U.S. government move toward a balanced budget in a way that protects the federal commitments to education, the environment and other issues Clinton said were high priorities for him.

"We should have reached this conclusion seven months ago, at the beginning of the fiscal year instead of more than halfway through it," Clinton said. "Unfortunately, the Congress passed versions of the appropriations bills that were far outside of the mainstream, leaving me no choice but to veto them."

White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton had also signed some waivers "necessary to keep ... damaging environmental riders (additions written into the bill) from taking effect."

The budget bill contained environmental policy restrictions that Clinton opposed. As part of a compromise that won passage of the budget plan, Congress gave Clinton the authority to waive some of the restrictions.

The current fiscal year began Oct 1, and a number of agencies had been operating with temporary spending bills, which in some cases drastically cut their funding.

Technically many government agencies ran out of money at midnight on Thursday when the latest of a series of temporary spending bills expired. But services were not interrupted because the president's signature had been expected.

Congress now turns its attention to the 1997 budget plan, which was submitted by the administration last month.

While the wrangling over the current fiscal year is over, Clinton and Republican leaders in Congress remain at odds over a longer-term deal to balance the budget in seven years.

In his written statement, Clinton called for a renewed effort to balance the budget. Talks between the White House and congressional Republicans on the issue broke down in January.

But election-year politics over federal spending priorities make a longer-term deal increasingly less likely. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, this week put even odds on chances of a budget deal this year.

The spending bill covers only five of the 13 annual appropriations for general government operations. General operations account for about one-third of the government's annual spending. Most of the rest is spent automatically for social programmes such as health care that do not need annual congressional action.

The measure provides $159.4 billion for nine Cabinet departments and dozens of federal agencies for the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30. They had been operating under a series of 13 temporary budgets, which in many cases drastically cut their funds.-Reuter