On the recordFebruary 9, 1995
You raise an interesting point on empty authorizations. This program has been authorized since the 1986 law. Until President Clinton proposed money last year and the Congress appropriated $130 million, we never funded $1. As you mentioned for the program of health and education, reimbursements to the States for the cost of the legalization program, nearly every single year President Reagan or President Bush sought to rescind that entire fund. Congress kept it, fortunately, but there is a logic to this in the sense that with the pressure and interest in funding new prison construction, the requirement that this money be appropriated first probably forces this not to be an empty authorization, and it is the basis upon which I think it probably makes some sense.
Source
govinfo.gov
