Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 1997-01-13: Vol 33 Iss 2

41 Pages·10.7 MB·English

Weekly Compilation of
Presidential
Documents
Monday, January 13, 1997
Volume 33—Number 2
Pages 7-40
Contents
Addresses and Remarks Communications to Congress—Continued
Arts and humanities awards—22, 27 Iraq, letter reporting—16
Business leaders—28 Libya, letter reporting—30
Ecumenical prayer breakfast—9 United States Trade Representative, message
Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War transmitting proposed legislation—19
Veterans’ Illnesses, report—11
Interviews With the News Media
Radio address—7
Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche— Exchanges with reporters
29 Cabinet Room—28
Student loan default rates, report—19 Oval Office—19
Roosevelt Room—11
Communications to Congress
Statements by the President
Chemical weapons convention, message
transmitting protocols—14 Crime, decline—8
Energy Department, message transmitting
Supplementary Materials
report—14
Hazardous materials transportation, message Acts approved by the President—40
transmitting report—1l4 Checklist of White House press releases—39
Housing and Urban Development Digest of other White House
Department, message transmitting report— announcements—32
14 Nominations submitted to the Senate—33
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF regulations prescribed by the Administrative Committee of the
Federal Register, approved by the President (37 FR 23607;
1 CFR Part 10)
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Week Ending Friday, January 10, 1997
The President’s Radio Address our progress carries into the new year and
beyond.
January 4, 1997
We know many of our social problems
Good morning, and Happy New Year. I have their roots in the breakdown of our fam-
look forward to 1997 with great optimism. ilies. We know children who are born to teen
As we enter this new year, I’m preparing to parents are more likely to drop out of school,
enter my second term as your President, get involved in crime and drugs, and end up
committed to continuing our mission of pre- in poverty; more likely to suffer ill health,
paring our people for the 21st century, meet- even to die as infants. And teen parents often
ing our new challenges, and strengthening find their own lives are changed forever. Too
our oldest values. We will work to give our many don’t finish school, not ever, and there-
people the tools they need to make the most fore, they never learn the skills they need
of their own lives, to build strong families to succeed as workers and parents in our new
and strong communities. And as we work to economy.
expand opportunity, we will also seek respon- That’s why our administration has worked
sibility from every American. so hard to reduce teen pregnancies, to in-
This approach is working. In just 4 years
crease responsibility among teen parents, and
we have replaced trickle-down economics
to prepare young people to be good parents
with invest-and-grow economics, responsibil-
at the right time. Last year I took executive
ity, and opportunity. We've cut the deficit
action to require young mothers to stay in
by 60 percent, increased our trade to record
school or lose their welfare payments. We
levels. We have over 11 million new jobs.
challenged members of the private sector to
In just 4 years, working with citizens and
take action, and they did, with a national
communities all over America to solve our
campaign to prevent teen pregnancy and
social problems, we have replaced political
community initiatives all over our Nation.
rhetoric with a strategy of giving people the
We're mounting an unprecedented crack-
tools to solve their problems and demanding
down on child support enforcement. Now
responsibility from all of our citizens. It’s
child support collections are up over 50 per-
working, too. Crime has dropped for the last
cent, compared to 4 years ago. And we've
4 years as we work to put 100,000 police on
worked with community-based groups in the
our streets and take gangs and guns away
from our children. The welfare rolls have character education movement in our schools
dropped by 2.1 million—that’s a record re- help parents teach young people right
duction—as we work to help people find from wrong. Today we have new evidence
work but to require them to pursue work and that this approach is starting to work.
education and to be responsible parents. Last year we learned that the teen birth
But there’s still a lot more to do if we’re rate has dropped for the 4th year in a row,
going to make sure the American dream is and that out-of-wedlock birth rates dropped
a reality for all of our citizens in the 21st for the first time in 19 years. According to
century. And we still have some pretty big a new report by the Department of Health
problems in our society. None stands in our and Human Services, the teen birth rates
way of achieving our goals for America more dropped more than 10 percent over 3 years
than the epidemic of teen pregnancy. Today in Wisconsin, Washington, and 8 other
I want to talk to you about the progress we’ve States. And altogether, from 1991 to 1995,
made in preventing it and to tell you about the teen birth rate in America has dropped
the new steps we're taking to see to it that by 8 percent.
Jan. 4 / Administration of WilliamJ . Clinton, 1997
The progress we're making on teen preg- unless you are married and ready to take on
nancy shows that we can overcome even our the responsibilities of parenthood.
most stubborn and serious problems. Be- What we’re doing to prevent teen preg-
cause of the energy and the effort of the nancy as a nation is an example of how we
American people, as I said, the crime rate can master many of the challenges of our
is dropping, the welfare rolls have dropped time. The National Government cannot solve
dramatically, and poverty is down. We can all our problems, but it can help by giving
meet our challenges if we'll meet them to- individuals, families, and communities the
gether, in our homes, our communities, and tools they need to take responsibility and
as a nation. But let me be clear: The teen solve those problems for themselves.
pregnancy rate is still intolerably high in As President, I’m committed to marshaling
America. Too many children are still having all the forces in our society to mobilizing our
children. So we must do more. citizens, our communities, our businesses,
As I enter my second term, I want to tell our schools to meet our challenges. That is
you the new and comprehensive steps my ad- the way we will keep the promise of America
ministration will take to further reduce the alive for all our citizens as we move into the
number ofo ut-of-wedlock births: 21st century.
Thanks for listening, and Happy New
First, we'll step up support for programs
Year.
at the local level at work, providing $7' mil-
lion for pioneering programs like the one at
Emory University in Atlanta, where young NoTE: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from
people teach their peers about abstinence the Mahogany Run Golf Course in St. Thomas,
and responsibility. U.S. Virgin Islands.
Second, we'll spread the word about these
programs so that what works in one commu-
nity can be tried quickly in more commu- Statement on the Decline in Serious
nities. Crime
Third, we'll forge even stronger partner-
January 5, 1997
ships with businesses, clergy, and community
groups who are committed to dealing with These new FBI statistics show that for the
this issue. fifth year in a row, serious crime in this coun-
And fourth, we'll see to it that we use the try has declined. This is the longest period
most up-to-date research methods to track of decline in over 25 years.
teen pregnancy trends. We have to make At the beginning of my administration, we
sure our efforts are actually paying off. set out to change this country’s approach to
Finally, we'll carry out the strong provi- crime by putting more officers on our streets
sions of the welfare reform law I signed last through community policing and taking guns
year, which requires teen mothers who re- out of the hands of criminals. We are making
ceive welfare not only to stay in school but a difference. Today, our neighborhoods are
to live at home or in an adult-supervised set- safer, and we are restoring the American
ting. It sets up second-chance homes where people’s confidence that crime can be re-
young mothers who can’t go home still have duced.
a safe place to raise a child and turn their But our work is not done. We must con-
lives around. And it institutes the toughest tinue to move in the right direction by adding
ever child support measures. more police officers, cracking down on gangs,
We've made some significant progress in and reducing gun and drug violence. That
the effort against teen pregnancy in the last is why I have placed curbing juvenile vio-
few years. With the new steps I’m announc- lence at the top of my anticrime agenda for
ing today, we'll continue our fight against the new year.
children having children. All of you need to
help us send the strongest possible message: NOTE: This statement was embargoed for release
It’s wrong to be pregnant or father a child until 5 p.m.
Administration of William J. Clinton, 1997 / Jan. 6 9
Remarks at the Ecumenical Prayer ness if you can get us all to do the right
Breakfast thing,” which I thought was an interesting
January 6, 1997 way of saying in part what the magic and
genius of democracy is all about.
Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President
So we're thinking a lot now about how
and Tipper and ladies and gentlemen. Hillary
we're going to build our bridge to the 21st
and I are delighted to welcome you to the
White House. We look forward to these century, what we're going to do in this next
breakfasts. As Al said, we have been doing term. I've listened to all of these experts talk
them on a regular basis now, normally about how hard it is for Presidents to be ef-
around—just after Labor Day as we sort of fective in the second term because, after all,
rededicate ourselves to the labor of the new they just got reelected because things went
year. But this year, we are doing it now for well in their first term, not because they had
two reasons: one is, obviously, this is on the actually thought through what they were
brink of the inauguration and a new 4-year going to do in their second term. But we've
term for the President and for our country; tried to overcome that disability.
the other is, we were otherwise occupied last There are a lot of particulars that we could
Labor Day. [Laughter] discuss today, but what I'd like for you to
This is a wonderful day to be here. We think about a little bit, from your perspective
asked Father Stephanopoulos to pray today and what you can do—two things: what are
because, as all of you know, this is the cele- we going to do; and secondly, and more im-
bration of Epiphany in the Christian faith, portantly I think, how are we going to do
a time of recognizing Christmas in the Ortho- it? In what spirit shall we proceed?
dox tradition. I also wanted you to pray so In any great democracy there are always
that I could say that we were all very im- differences about what are we going to do.
pressed with the size of the book contract There always have been, there always will be,
that—{laughter|—that your son got, and we and these are altogether healthy. It would
know we can depend upon you to make sure be—America wouldn't last very long, I think,
the church gets its 10 percent of that con- if 100 percent of the people agreed 100 per-
tract. We are very proud of him and very cent of the time on 100 percent of the issues.
grateful to have him here. What keeps us going—we all know that none
This is the day in the Christian tradition of us has perfect and infinite understanding
when the wise men came bearing gifts for of these complex matters facing our country
the baby Jesus. And we have much to be and facing the world. But we have devised
thankful for and much to pray for, but I think a system—we have nurtured and maintained
what I would say today is that I asked you it now for over 200 years—in which people
to come here to share with me your thoughts can reconcile their differences and come to
and to share with you some of ours in the a consensus and an agreement which will
hope that we might all become wiser. push the country forward. So we are enlarged
I am very grateful for the progress that when we come to agreement after honest de-
our country has made in the last 4 years, bate in the right way; we are diminished if,
grateful that we have been given a chance in the way we treat each other, we preclude
to play a role in that progress, and mindful the possibility of resolution and going for-
that whatever has been done which is good ward.
has been done by us together. And at times like this, when things are
One of my college roommates, who I think changing so much, we need the right spirit
is a really smart guy, said to me the other more because we have more to decide, more
day when we were together and joking about to deal with. And yet, at times like this, we
our lost youth, he said, “Oh, and one other are in some ways put at risk by the absence
thing,” as he was leaving, he said, “Don’t ever of that spirit of reconciliation and respect.
forget that great Presidents do not do great There are several specific things I hope
things. Great Presidents get a lot of other we can talk about later that I think we could
people to do great things. And there is over reach broad agreement on. For example,
250 million of us now, so that’s a lot of great- some of you think I made a mistake when
10 Jan. 6 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1997
I signed the welfare reform bill, and I don’t. tion. The things I don’t like about the welfare
But one thing that we all ought to be able law have nothing to do with welfare and ev-
to agree on is, the bill will not succeed if erything to do with the way we tried to save
the bill does nothing, it just changes the money, I thought unfairly, on legal immi-
rules. It doesn’t put anybody to work. In 4 grants.
years we have reduced by 2.1 million the Our administration has done a lot to cut
number of people on welfare, the biggest re- down on illegal immigration, but we believe
duction in history, by doing the kinds of that legal immigration has served our country
things that now this bill requires every State well. It has, however, made us more diverse.
to do. We just went out and worked with And so immigration is really the touchstone
the States and came up with innovative ways where we deal with not only what are we
to get around old rules and regulations and going to do but how are we going to do it.
do them anyway. Now every State has got I believe that we have learned a lot in 220
to try to do that for ev ery person. years—really more than 300 years—about
My objective here is, once and for all, to how hard it is for people of different races
take the politics out of poverty and to treat to get along. We know that that is difficult
all able-bodied people the same at the com- in all societies and all times, and it’s some-
munity level. What I long for is a system of thing you just have to keep working at.
community-based support for people who But now America is not a white and black
are out of work through no fault of their own America. America is a country with scores,
but a system of community-based norms that hundreds of different racial, ethnic, and reli-
require people who can work to work when gious groups. Our biggest county, Los Ange-
there is work. Now, if you say that everybody les County, now has over 160 different racial
who is able-bodied can only stay on welfare and ethnic groups within one county. But it’s
2 years continuously unless the State decides all over America. Wayne County, where De-
to continue to support them for some other troit, Michigan, is, has now over 140 different
reason—and we did give a fund so that hard- racial and ethnic groups. Detroit was a place
ship cases could be treated in that way—then where we used to think of where you basi-
every community has to have a system for cally had white ethnics who immigrated from
putting those people to work. Central and Eastern Europe and African-
Now, let me pause at this; you can all think Americans and white Southerners who immi-
about this. This new law gives every State grated out of the South because they couldn’t
the right to give the welfare check to any make a living in places like my home State
employer, including a church, as an employ- in the Depression and later—now, 140 dif-
ment and training subsidy, who will hire ferent racial and ethnic groups.
someone from welfare. If every church in How are we going to deal with that?
America just hired one family, the welfare Against the background of what you see in
problem would go way down. If every church Bosnia, Rwanda, Northern Ireland, the Mid-
in America challenged every member of that dle East, all of these things, these destructive
church who had 25 or more employees to impulses people have, how can we prove in
hire another family, the problem would go America that we can all get along, not with-
away, and we would really have a system in out giving up our basic beliefs but in finding
which in times of recession we’d have more a ground of mutual respect? It seems to me
people unemployed at the community level, that that may be the single most significant
in good times we'd have fewer people, but decision facing the United States. We have
we would always have a community-based a lot of other things we have to deal with
commitment that crossed party lines and reli- in the next 4 years, the whole question of
gious lines and every other line to give able- the entitlements burden when the baby
bodied people the dignity of work and sup- boomers retire and education initiatives that
port them in the most important work they I intend to push and finishing the work of
do, which is raising their children. balancing the budget and all that. That's fine,
The second thing I wanted to talk about but if we can all find a way to hold up to
a little bit is this whole business of immigra- the world not only the example of our free-
Administration of WilliamJ ].C linton, 1997 / Jan. 7 11
dom but the example of our freedom in the of time left. He just knew it, and we don't.
21st century global interdependent world in And 3 weeks or 30 years, it’s a little bit of
which anybody from anywhere can live here, time in the life of a country, the life of the
and if you show up for work or you show world.
up for school and you do what you're sup- So I say to you—I ask for your guidance,
posed to do and you're a good citizen, you for your prayers for our country, for the ef-
can be part of our country, and we'll respect forts that all of us are making. I ask for your
your faith, we'll respect your differences, and specific involvement, particularly in the two
we'll find a way to work together, then I be- issues I’ve mentioned, on the welfare and im-
lieve the preeminence of the United States migration issues. But most important of all,
will be assured throughout the next century. I ask for your help in creating a sense of rec-
And I think you have to think about it in onciliation, the right sort of spirit in which
long terms like that. we can deal with these issues. As people of
What causes a society to rise and fall? We, faith on this Epiphany, I think we should all
clearly, are proving that we're getting back ask that that be made evident to us.
to our basic values. The crime rate is going Thank you, and God bless you.
down. You saw the—has gone down for sev-
eral years in a row for the first time in 25 Note: The President spoke at 9:59 a.m. in the
State Dining Room at the White House. In his
years. We have inequality among working
remarks, he referred to Rev. Robert G.
people going down—and I’m very proud of
Stephanopoulos, Holy Trinity Cathedral, New
that—for the first time in 20 years. We have
York, NY, who gave the invocation, and the late
a lot of our other social problems being ame- Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, former Archbishop of
liorated, the teen pregnancy rate dropping Chicago.
substantially for the first time in a good
while—that drugs, alcohol, tobacco are still
a problem for very young people. Drug use Remarks on Receiving the Report of
is going down in society as a whole but still the Presidential Advisory Committee
going up among young pe ople. on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses and
So we're on the cusp here, maybe, of turn- an Exchange With Reporters
ing a lot of our social problems ‘around. We January 7, 1997
know what we ought to do. Can we do it
in the right way, in a spirit of reconciliation? The President. Thank you very much to
And can we recognize that in this exciting Dr. Lashof and the members of the Presi-
new world there’s no way in the world for dential Advisory Committee on Gulf War IIl-
us to know the answer to all these questions nesses, Secretary White, Secretary Brown,
that are out there before us? Secretary Shalala, Deputy Director Tenet.
And that’s the last point I'd like to make. I'd like to say a special word of thanks to
If we do things in the right way, we'll get Dr. Jack Gibbons for the work that he did
enough of the right answers to keep moving on this. I thank Senator Rockefeller, Senator
our country forward and to keep doing the Specter, Congressman Lane Evans for their
right thing for the rest of the world. And we interest and their pursuit of this issue, and
won't be right all the time, but that’s just all the representatives of the military and vet-
because we're human. So that’s the last erans organizations who are here.
thought I would like to leave with you. I am pleased to accept this report. I thank
The beginning of wisdom, I think, is hu- Dr. Lashof and the committee for their ex-
mility and respect for what you may not tremely thorough and dedicated work over
know. Now, we were talking around the table 18 months now. I pledge to you and to all
here about the last speech Cardinal the veterans of this country, we will now
Bernardin gave in which he said that the pre- match your efforts with our action.
cious gift of time should not be wasted on Six years ago hundreds of thousands of
acrimony and division. And he said that Americans defended our vital interest in the
knowing he just had a little bit of time left. Persian Gulf. They faced a dangerous enemy,
The truth is, all of us just have a little bit harsh conditions, lengthy isolation from their
12 Jan. 7 / Administration of WilliamJ .C linton, 1997
families. And they went to victory for our troops to chemical agents in the wake of our
country with lightning speed. When they destruction of an arms depot in southern
came home, for reasons that we still don’t Iraq.
fully understand, thousands of them became The committee made clear and the De-
ill. They served their country with courage fense Department agrees that this new infor-
and skill and strength, and they must now mation demands a new approach, focusing
know that they can rely upon us. And we on what happened not only during but after
must not, and will not, let them down. the war and what it could mean for our
Three years ago I asked the Secretaries of troops. Based on the committee’s guidance,
Defense, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense has restructured
Veterans Affairs to form the Persian Gulf and intensified its efforts, increasing tenfold
Veterans Coordinating Board to strengthen its investigating team, tracking down and
our efforts to care for our veterans and find talking to veterans who may have been ex-
the causes of their illnesses. I signed land- posed to chemical agents, and devoting mil-
mark legislation that pays disability benefits
lions of dollars to research on the possible
to Gulf war veterans with undiagnosed ill-
effects of low-level chemical exposure.
nesses. DOD and VA established toll-free
I’m determined that this investigation will
lines and medical evaluation programs.
be comprehensive and credible. We haven’t
I am especially grateful to the First Lady
ended the suffering. We don’t have all the
who took this matter to heart and first
answers, and I won’t be satisfied until we
brought it to my attention quite a long while
have done everything humanly possible to
ago now. I thank her for reaching out to the
find them.
veterans and for making sure that their voices
That’s why I welcome this committee’s re-
would be heard.
port and its suggestions on how to make our
To date, we have provided Gulf war veter-
commitment even stronger. I also take seri-
ans with more than 80,000 free medical
ously the concern regarding DOD’s inves-
exams. We've approved more than 26,000
tigation of possible chemical exposure. I’m
disability claims. HHS, DOD, and the Veter-
ans Department have sponsored more than determined to act swiftly on these findings
70 research projects to identify the possible not only to help the veterans who are sick
causes of the illnesses. but to apply the lessons of this experience
But early on, it became clear that answers to the future.
were not emerging fast enough. Hillary and I've asked the Secretaries of Defense,
I shared the frustration and concerns of many Health and Human Services, and Veterans
veterans and their families. We realized the Affairs to report to me in 60 days with con-
issues were so complex they demanded a crete, specific action plans for implementing
more comprehensive effort. That is why, in these recommendations. And I am directing
May of 1995, I asked some of our Nation’s Secretary-designate Cohen, when confirmed
best doctors and scientists, as well as Gulf by the Senate, to make this a top priority
war veterans themselves, to form a Presi- of the Defense Department. I’m also an-
dential advisory committee that could pro- nouncing two other immediate initiatives.
vide an open and thorough and independent First, I’ve asked this committee to stay in
review of the Government's response to vet- business for 9 more months to provide inde-
erans’ health concerns and the causes of their pendent, expert oversight of DOD’s efforts
ailments. to investigate chemical exposure, and also to
Since that time, we have made some real monitor the Governmentwide response to
progress. The Department of Defense with the broader recommendations. The commit-
the CIA launched a review of more than 5 tee’s persistent public effort has helped to
million pages of Gulf war documents, declas- bring much new information to light, and I
sifying some 23,000 pages of materials and have instructed them to fulfill their oversight
putting them on the Internet. Through this role with the same intensity, resolve, and
effort, we discovered important information vigor they have brought to their work so far.
concerning the possible exposure of our Dr. Lashof has agreed to continue, and I
Administration of William] .C linton, 1997 / Jan. 7 13
trust the other committee members will as Q. Mr. President, this has been studied
well. to death. Do you believe that there is a Gulf
Second, I’m accepting Secretary Brown’s war illness?
proposal to reconsider the regulation that The President. | believe that there are
Gulf war veterans with undiagnosed illnesses a lot of veterans who got sick as a result of
must prove their disabilities emerged within their service in the Gulf. And I leave it to
2 years of their return in order to be eligible the experts to determine whether there is
for benefits. Experience has shown that many one or a proliferation of them and exactly
disabled veterans have their claims denied what the causal connections were. That has
because they fall outside the 2-year time- been apparent for some time. That’s why the
frame. I've asked Secretary Brown to report Congress agreed to support our efforts that
for the first time gave disability payments for
back to me in 60 days with a view toward
people with undiagnosed conditions.
extending that limit.
But let me say that I think that this com-
And we will do whatever we can and what-
mittee has done a good job. I think—I want
ever it takes to research Gulf war illnesses
to compliment the work that has been done
as thoroughly as possible. Every credible pos-
in the last few months by John White in the
sibility must be fully explored, including low-
Defense Department in facing up to the
level chemical exposure and combat stress.
things which were not done a bs, No one
I know that Congress shares our deep con-
has ever suggested that anybody intentionally
cern, and let me again thank Senator Specter,
imposed—exposed American soldiers to
Senator Rockefeller, and Congressman
these dangers, and there is nothing—there
Evans for being here. Caring for our veterans is no reason that anyone in this Government
is not a partisan issue. It is a national obliga- should ever do anything but just try to get
tion, and I thank them for the approach that to the truth and get it out and do what is
they have taken. right by the veterans.
As we continue to investigate Gulf war ill- And there are also—I think we need to
nesses, let me again take this opportunity to be a little humble about this. There are a
urge the Congress to ratify the Chemical lot of things that we still don’t know. That’s
Weapons Convention which would make it what Dr. Lashof said. And that’s why these
harder for rogue states to acquire chemical research projects are so very important.
weapons in the future, and protect the sol- And the final thing I'd like to say is we
diers of the United States and our allies in don’t know all the answer here. You heard
the future. that—Dr. Lashof said that sometimes, when
This report is not the end of the road, any people are exposed to substances that can
more than it is the beginning. We have a cause cancer, it may not be manifest for 10
lot of hard work that’s been done, and we years, which is why I want to thank Secretary
have made some progress, but the task is far Brown for urging that we scrap the 2-year
from over. The committee’s assessment gives rule. We have to be vigilant about this. And
me confidence that we are on the right track, my successor will be working on this. We will
but we have much yet to learn and much be monitoring this for a long time to come.
to do. But we've got a process now the American
As we do make progress, we will make our people and the veterans and their families
findings public. We will be open in how we can have confidence in. We’ve got the appro-
view Gulf war illnesses and all their possible priate commitment of personnel and money.
And more important, we’ve got the appro-
causes, open to the veterans whose care is
priate commitment of the heart and the
in our hands, open to the public looking to
mind. And I’m convinced now that we will
us for answers. I pledge to our veterans and
do justice to this issue and to the people that
to every American, we will not stop until we
have been affected by it.
have done all we can to care for our Gulf
war veterans, to find out why they are sick, NoTE: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. in the
and to help to make them healthy again. Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his re-
Thank you very much. marks, he referred to Joyce Lashof, chair, Presi-
14 Jan. 7 / Administration of Williamj .C linton, 1997
dential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veter- Materials Transportation for Calendar Years
ans’ Illnesses. 1994-1995 of the Department of Transpor-
tation.
Message to the Congress William J. Clinton
Transmitting the Department of The White House,
Housing and Urban Development January7 , 1997.
Report
NOTE: This letter was released by the Office of
January 7, 1997
the Press Secretary on January 8.
To the Congress of the United States:
Pursuant to the requirements of 42 U.S.C. Message to the Senate Transmitting
3536, I transmit herewith the 3lst Annual Protocols to the Chemical Weapons
Report of the Department of Housing and
Convention
Urban Development, which covers calendar
January 7, 1997
year 1995.
William J. Clinton To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit herewith, for the advice and
The White House,
consent of the Senate to ratification, the fol-
January 7, 1997.
lowing Protocols to the 1980 Convention on
NOTE: This letter was released by the Office of Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of
the Press Secretary on January 8. Certain Conventional Weapons Which May
Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or
to Have Indiscriminate Effects: the amended
Message to the Congress
Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on
Transmitting the Department of the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other
Energy Report Devices (Protocol II or the amended Mines
January 7, 1997 Protocol); the Protocol on Prohibitions or
Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weap-
To the Congress of the United States: ons (Protocol III or the Incendiary Weapons
In accordance with the requirements of Protocol); and the Protocol on Blinding Laser
section 657 of the Department of Energy Or- Weapons (Protocol IV). Also transmitted for
ganization Act (Public Law 95-91; 42 U.S.C. the information of the Senate is the report
7267), I transmit herewith the Annual Report of the Department of State with respect to
of the Department of Energy, which covers these Protocols, together with article-by-arti-
the years 1994 and 1995. cle analyses.
William J. Clinton The most important of these Protocols is
the amended Mines Protocol. It is an essen-
The White House,
tial step forward in dealing with the problem
January 7, 1997.
of anti-personnel landmines (APL) and in
NOTE: This letter was released by the Office of minimizing the very severe casualties to civil-
the Press Secretary on January 8. ians that have resulted from their use. It is
an important precursor to the total prohibi-
tion of these weapons that the United States
Message to the Congress seeks.
Transmitting the Report on Among other things, the amended Mines
Hazardous Materials Transportation Protocol will do the following: (1) expand the
January 7, 1997 scope of the original Protocol to include in-
ternal armed conflicts, where most civilian
To the Congress of the United States: mine casualties have occurred; (2) require
In accordance with Public Law 103-272, that all remotely delivered anti-personnel
as amended (49 U.S.C. 5121(e)), I transmit mines be equipped with self-destruct devices
herewith the Biennial Report on Hazardous and backup self-deactivation features to en-