Bill Clinton: “Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 December 19…”

“Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 December 19, 1995 To the House of Representatives: I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 2076, the ``Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996.'' This bill does not meet the priorities and needs of our Nation and people. It would undermine our ability to fight the war on crime; decimate technology programs that are critical to building a strong U.S. economy; and weaken our leadership in the world by drastically cutting funding for international organizations, peacekeeping, and other international affairs activities. First, the bill represents an unacceptable retreat in our fight against crime and drugs. It eliminates my COPS initiative (Community Oriented Policing Services) to put 100,000 more police officers on the street. Already, this initiative has put thousands of police on the street, working hand-in-hand with their communities to fight crime. The block grant that H.R. 2076 would offer instead would not guarantee a single new police officer. That's not what the American people want, and I won't accept it. As I have said, I will not sign any version of this bill that does not fund the COPS initiative as a free- standing, discretionary grant program, as authorized. The bill also eliminates my ``drug courts'' initiative.…”