CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE

The ACC, however, would be based

on the discredited approach to youth

unemployment that relies on artificial

public sector employment, just as did

the Public Service Employment program operated under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act

until it was terminated by Congress in

1981.

Moreover, the ACC is not a necessary or effective way of managing Federal lands. The Federal Government

currently spends over $4 billion annually on land management. This

amount is adequate to fund all activities needed to ensure the preservation

of these precious resources for this

and future generations of Americans.

Any conservation project that could be

performed by the ACC could be done

better and for less money under existing programs, because of less overhead

for residential centers and the greater

productivity of existing workers who

are already well trained. In addition, I

have recently signed S. 864, which

would expand the National Park Service's volunteer program, and allow

such a program to be established in

the Bureau of Land Management.

Under these worthwhile programs, including those administered by the

Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, citizens offer valuable volunteer services to assist the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior

in the management of Federal lands.

Finally, while the three year, $225

million ACC authorization is itself unwarranted, it would almost certainly

grow. The Youth Conservation Corps

began in 1971 as a $1 million pilot program, and was subsequently given a

permanent authorization of $60 million annually, notwithstanding its inability to provide enduring, meaningful benefits for the trainees or the

public. Moreover, the proponents of

the ACC have already served notice

that they intend to attempt in the

next Congress to increase the ACC authorization to $300 million annually.

I believe that America's unemployed

youth would be better served by reducing Federal spending so that more resources are available to the private

sector of our economy to fuel a continuation of the current economic expansion that has added 6 million new

jobs to the workforce over the last two

years. If given the opportunity, the

private sector is much more likely to

offer young people promising career

opportunities than temporary makework Federal job programs such as the

American Conservation Corps.

RONALD REAGAN.

THE WHITE HOUSE, October 30, 1984.

H.R. 5172

MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL

I am withholding my approval of

H.R. 5172, which includes the "National Bureau of Standards Authorization

Act for Fiscal Year 1985" (Title I),

clarifications of the role of the National Science Foundation in engineering

research and education (Title II), and

the "Manufacturing Sciences and Robotics Research and Development Act

of 1984" (Title III). Title I would,

among other things, authorize appropriations for certain Department of

Commerce programs for fiscal year

1985, for which appropriations have

already been enacted.

Title III of H.R. 5172 would establish a new program providing Federal

financial support for a variety of research, development, education, and

training activities, whose purported

purpose would be to improve manufacturing technologies, including robotics

and automation. These activities

would total $250 million during fiscal

years 1985-1988, and represent an unwarranted role for the Federal government. The decisions on how to allocate

investments for research on manufacturing technologies are best left to

American industry. It is highly doubtful that this Act and resulting Federal

expenditures would improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing.

The new role for the Federal government contemplated by Title III could

also serve as the basis for a Federal industrial policy to influence our Nation's technological development. This

Administration has steadfastly opposed such a role for the Federal government.

My Administration has fostered the

development of a robust and improving economy, which will do more than

anything to improve the growth and

productivity of the industrial sector.

We will continue our efforts to improve the general economy, the regulatory environment, and tax policies

that are essential if U.S. industry is to

remain competitive. I cannot, however,

approve legislation that would result

in significant Federal expenditures

with little or no assurance that there

are any benefits to be gained.

I am, therefore, constrained to withhold my approval from H.R. 5172.

RONALD REAGAN.

THE WHITE HOUSE, October 30, 1984.

H.R. 5760

MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL

I am withholding my approval of

H.R. 5760, a bill "To declare that the

United States holds certain lands in

trust for the Cocopah Indian Tribe of

Arizona, and for other purposes."

Title I of H.R. 5760 would declare

that almost 4,000 acres of Federal land

in Yuma County, Arizona, be held in

trust by the United States for the benefit of the Cocopah Indian Tribe. I do

not object to this provision.

Title II of H.R. 5760 would allow the

Navajo Tribe to reassert against the

United States, vague and uncertain

claims originally brought in July 1950,

but voluntarily and legally withdrawn

by their counsel in October 1969. The

propriety and finality of counsel's

action were subsequently given exhaustive consideration. Navajo Tribe

v. United States, 220 Ct. Cl. 350, 601 F.

2d 536 (1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S.

1072 (1980). In the meantime, some

claims which might be affected by

H.R. 5760 have been settled or litigated, and others have been placed on a

detailed trial schedule. Enactment of

H.R. 5760 could compel protracted renegotiation, retrial or delay in the

trial of these claims, based upon vague

and speculative allegations.

Absent a compelling showing that a

substantial injustice would result from

adherence to procedural norms, the

limitations of the Indian Claims Act

and the procedures adopted for the

adjudication of claims under the Act

should not be frustrated by special legislation, such as that contained in title

II of H.R. 5760. No such showing has

been made here.

Title II would interfere with the fair

and orderly adjudication of the claims

of the Navajo Tribe and would constitute an affront to established rules,

procedures, and principles for the resolution of Indian claims. It could serve

to encourage other and future efforts

to obtain by legislation that which has

been unattainable through adjudication.

For these reasons, I find that bill unacceptable. If Title I were presented as

a separate bill, I would have no objection to its enactment.

RONALD REAGAN.

THE WHITE HOUSE, October 30, 1984.

H.R. 5479

MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL

I am withholding my approval of

H.R. 5479, a bill "to amend section 504

of title 5, United States Code, and section 2412 of title 28, United States

Code, with respect to awards of expenses of certain agency and court

proceedings, and for other purposes."

H.R. 5479 would permanently reauthorize and make a number of significant changes to the Equal Access to

Justice Act. The Act allows the award

of attorneys' fees to certain parties

who successfully litigate against the

government unless the government

demonstrates that its position is substantially justified or that special circumstances exist that make a fee

award unjust. Because the Equal

Access to Justice Act expired on September 30, 1984, legislation is needed

to reauthorize the Act.

I am firmly committed to the policies underlying the Equal Access to

Justice Act and will make the permanent and retroactive reauthorization

of the Act a high legislative priority of

the Administration in the next Congress. Where the Federal government

has taken a position in litigation that

is not substantially justified, and

thereby has caused a small business or

individual to incur unnecessary attorneys' fees and legal costs, I believe it

proper for the government to reim32350 October 12, 1984