PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE SUBSEQUENT TO SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT 1f 129.151

III requirements for the exercise of 

the judicial power.

R onald R eagan.

The Wh ite H ouse, October 26, 1988.

S. 437

MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL

I am withholding my approval of S. 

437, a bill “to authorize the refinancing of certain small business debentures, and for other purposes'’. The 

bill would have shortchanged American taxpayers by allowing certain borrowers to prepay their Federally guaranteed loans at reduced premiums.

Under Section 503 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, the Small 

Business Administration may guarantee a particular type of bond, known 

as a debenture, issued by State and 

local development companies. The 

companies have sold these debentures 

to the Department of the Treasury’s 

Federal Financing Bank and used the 

proceeds received to make loans to 

small business borrowers.

The amendment made by Section 1 

of S. 437 would have permitted development companies to prepay their debentures held by the Bank at substantially reduced premiums and to finance the prepayments by issuing new 

debentures fully guaranteed by the 

Government. Such an arrangement 

would in effect allow a borrower to 

change the borrowing terms to which 

it had previously agreed any time it is 

financially favorable to the borrower— 

and therefore unfavorable to the Bank 

and American taxpayers—to do so. Although prepayments under the 

amendments made by Section 1 of S. 

437 temporarily would have reduced 

the Federal deficit, in future years the 

deficit would have been substantially 

increased as the result of the borrowers’ avoidance of interest payments 

that would have been paid in the absense of prepayments.

Under Section 303 of the Small Business Investment Act, the Small Business Administration may purchase debentures issued by a small business investment company. The amendment 

made by Section 2 of S. 437 authorizes 

adjustment in certain circumstances of 

the interest rates on such debentures 

and provides that the face amount of 

the debenture with an adjusted interest rate will not be treated as new 

budget authority or new credit authority. This artificial budget accounting 

rule conflicts with the Federal budget 

accounting practices of the Office of 

Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office. The result of 

this accounting sleight of hand would 

have been to understate the adverse 

impact of Section 2 of S. 437 on the 

Federal budget deficit.

R onald R eagan.

T he Wh ite House, October 31, 1988.

S. 2751

MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL

I am withholding my approval of S. 

2751, a bill “to designate certain lands 

in Montana as wilderness, to release

other forest lands for multiple use 

management, and for other purposes.” 

My Administration’s National Forest 

System Land and Resource Management Plans for Montana already strike 

the appropriate balance among competing economic, environmental, and 

cultural interests in the National Forests of Montana. The provisions of S. 

2751 would have severely disrupted 

that balance.

Enactment of the bill would injure 

the economy of Montana. It could cost 

jobs and eliminate vast mineral development opportunities. It also would 

reduce the flexibility the Federal Government needs in managing the Nation’s natural heritage.

The legislation would constrain the 

ability of the Federal Government to 

obtain strategic and critical minerals. 

These minerals are necessary to 

supply military, industrial, and essential civilian needs during national defense emergencies and are not now 

found or produced in the United 

States in sufficient quantities to meet 

those needs.

Finally, the legislation would have 

provided for the Federal Government 

to exchange revenue-producing Federal land for nonrevenue-producing land. 

The resulting loss in revenue to the 

Treasury would have increased the 

Federal deficit and imposed an unwanted and unneeded burden on the 

American taxpayer.

R onald R eagan.

T he White House, November 2, 1988.

S. 1081

MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL

I am withholding my approval of S. 

1081, a bill “to establish a coordinated 

National Nutrition Monitoring and 

Related Research program, and a comprehensive plan for the assessment of 

the nutritional and dietary status of 

the United States population and the 

nutritional quality of food consumed 

in the United States, with the provision for the conduct of scientific research and development and support 

of such program and plan”.

The Administration strongly supports the principal goals of this legislation and reaffirms its commitment 

to use existing authority to achieve 

these ends. However, enactment of the 

bill would set up Federal nutrition efforts on the wrong course.

The bill would create a substantial 

amount of unnecessary and complex 

Federal bureaucracy that would 

hamper the achievement of the bill’s 

goals. Under the bill, the Secretary of 

Agriculture and the Secretary of 

Health and Human Services, acting 

jointly, would bear responsibility for 

nutrition information collection and 

analysis, planning for research and 

grants, and government-wide nutrition 

program budgeting. The bill also 

would create an Administrator of Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research, an Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research, and a Nutrition Monitoring

Advisory Council. The creation of so 

much new Federal bureaucracy would 

hinder, rather than aid, performance 

of Federal nutrition-related functions.

The bill would impose a substantial 

new burden on the American taxpayer 

in future years to pay for Federal Government grants. First, the bill would 

require the Secretaries, acting jointly, 

to develop a comprehensive plan for a 

coordinated nutrition program. Then 

it specifies that the program must include at least two new programs of 

Federal grants, under which the Federal Government would make awards 

of taxpayers’ dollars. The bill then 

further specifies that the comprehensive plan shall “constitute the basis on 

which each agency participating in the 

coordinated program requests authorizations and appropriations for nutrition monitoring and related research”. 

Thus, the bill would effectively program substantial new grant funding 

into future Federal budgets.

Experience shows that once the Federal Government begins handing out 

money under a new grant program, a 

political constituency develops that 

demands greater funding for that program. Greater scrutiny should be 

given to the need for the proposed 

new grant programs before they are 

locked in as a future expansion of the 

Federal budget, especially given the 

likely urgent future needs in other 

areas of the Federal budget.

R onald R eagan.

T he Wh ite H ouse, November 8, 1988.

H.R. 2596

pocket veto

Pursuant to the Constitution of the 

United States, Article I, Section 7, the 

following bill (H.R. 2596) of the House 

failed to become law by pocket veto:

An Act to improve Federal management of lands on Admiralty Island, 

Alaska.

11129.151 REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Under clause 2 of rule XIII, reports 

of committees were delivered to the 

Clerk for printing and reference to the 

proper calendar, as follows:

Mr. BROOKS: Committee on Government Operations. Report on double 

standards: A review of criminal investigations at the Department of Education (Rept. No. 100-1105). Ordered to 

be printed.

Mr. BROOKS: Committee on Government Operations. Report on “If 

This is Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium”: Waste and abuse in foreign 

travel and aircraft usage and ownership by the Corps of Engineers (Rept. 

No. 100-1106). Ordered to be printed.

[Submitted Dec. 13, 1988J

Mr. LELAND: Select Committee on 

Hunger. Progress report on the activities of the Select Committee on 

Hunger during the 100th Congress 

(Rept. No. 100-1107). Referred to the

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