3. The economic costs to consumers, including effects on price, availability, and quality of food; 4. The economic effects on producers, whether they be gains or losses, including changes in prices or production; and 5. Whether reasonable efforts are being made to develop either an alternative method of pest control or an alternative pesticide chemical for use on such commodity or food. National Uniformity: When Applicable Under current law, States may set tolerances for pesticide residues in food that are lower than those established by EPA. When States have done so, it has been a source of real concern to the food distribution industry and a source of confusion to consumers. Inconsistent tolerances could have significant adverse impacts on the ability of the United States to participate in international trade of raw agricultural commodities and processed foods. The President's plan has the following approach: National uniformity should be provided by statute for chemical tolerances established pursuant to the reregistration process described under the 1988 amendments to FIFRA. Any State or local standards applicable to the same chemical substances must be identical to Federal standards, provided that a State may enforce a more stringent standard if it has obtained a waiver from EPA pursuant to published procedures and criteria. Waivers will be permitted only when warranted by special local circumstances. States could enforce more stringent standards for old substances that have not undergone reregistration. Note: This is an extract of the fact sheet issued by the Office of the Press Secretary. It contains information on the proposed legislation and does not include the background material on Federal jurisdiction over pesticide residues in food found in the original press release. Statement on the Flag Protection Act of 1989 October 26, 1989 On June 21, 1989, the Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson held unconstitutional a Texas statute prohibiting flag desecration. The Court reasoned that, under the principunish a person who desecrates the flag to ples of the First Amendment, a State could communicate a message only if the State had a compelling reason to do so. The Court held that the Government's interest in preserving the symbolic value of the flag is not compelling. After a careful study of the Court's opinion, the Department of Justice concluded that the only way to ensure protection of the flag is through a constitutional amendment. Pursuant to that advice, I urged the adoption of such an amendment. After several months of debate about how best to protect the flag from desecration, the Congress has forwarded to me H.R. 2978. The bill provides for a prison term of up to 1 year for anyone who "knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon" any United States flag. While I commend the intentions of those who voted for this bill, I have serious doubts that it can withstand Supreme Court review. The Supreme Court has held that the Government's interest in preserving the flag as a symbol can never be compelling enough to justify prohibiting flag desecration that is intended to express a message. Since that is precisely the target of this bill's prohibition, I suspect that any subsequent court challenge will reach a similar conclusion. Nevertheless, because this bill is intended to achieve our mutual goal of protecting our Nation's greatest symbol, and its constitutionality must ultimately be decided by the courts, I have decided to allow it to become law without my signature. I remain convinced, however, that a constitutional amendment is the only way to ensure that our flag is protected from desecration. The White House, October 26, 1989. George Bush Note: H.R. 2978 became law on October 28, upon expiration of the 10-day period al lowed for Presidential action. H.R. 2978 was assigned Public Law No. 101–131. Message to the House of To the House of Representatives: I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 3026, the "District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1990." I informed the Congress earlier that I would veto this bill if it permitted the use of appropriated funds to pay for abortions other than those in which the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term. The limitation I proposed is identical to the one included in the District of Columbia Appropriations Act for 1989 (Public Law 100-462). This year, regrettably, the Congress has expanded the circumstances in which Federal funds could be used to pay for abortions. Moreover, unlike Public Law 100462, H.R. 3026 would also permit payment for abortions with local funds, which under current law must be appropriated by the Congress. Thus, H.R. 3026 would not restrict the use of such funds for abortion in any way. I am, therefore, compelled to disapprove H.R. 3026. The White House, October 27, 1989. Digest of Other George Bush White House Announcements The following list includes the President's public schedule and other items of general interest announced by the Office of the Press Secretary and not included elsewhere in this issue. October 22 In the afternoon, the President and Mrs. Bush returned to the White House from a weekend stay at Camp David, MD. October 23 The President met at the White House with John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and members of the CIA briefing staff. October 24 The President met at the White House with: -John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and members of the CIA briefing staff; -the Republican congressional leadership, to discuss the budget and the capital gains tax; -spouses of Cabinet members, for lunch; -members of the House of Representatives Republican Research Committee's Project 101 group, which is concerned with environmental and conservation issues; -John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President. In a ceremony in the Residence, the President received diplomatic credentials from Ambassadors Peter Varkonyi (Hungary), Stanislaus Garikai Chigwedere (Zimbabwe), Mohamed Sadiq Al-Mashat (Iraq), Guido Di Tella (Argentina), Paul J.F. Lusaka (Zambia), and Christos Zacharakis (Greece). The President announced his intention to appoint the following individuals to be Chairman and members of the President's Education Policy Advisory Committee: Chairman: Paul H. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania. Mr. O'Neill is chief executive officer of the Aluminum Company of America. Members: John F. Akers, of Connecticut. Mr. Akers is chairman of the board of the International Business Machines Corp. Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee. Mr. Alexander is president of the University of Tennessee. Carolyn R. Bacon, of Texas. Ms. Bacon is executive director of the O'Donnell Foundation. Thomas E. Barton, Jr., of South Carolina. Mr. Barton is president of Greenville Technical College. William E. Brock, of Tennessee. Mr. Brock is president of the Brock Group. Juana Dainis, of New York. Ms. Dainis is deputy superintendent of schools, District 4, East Harlem, New York City. James E. Duffy, of New York. Mr. Duffy is vice president of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. Jaime Escalante, of California. Mr. Escalante is an educator at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. Marvin L. Esch, of Michigan. Mr. Esch is president of the Communications Group. H. Dean Evans, of Indiana. Mr. Evans is superintendent of public instruction for the State of Indiana. Chester E. Finn, Jr., of Maryland. Mr. Finn is director of the Educational Excellence Network. Keith B. Geiger, of Michigan. Mr. Geiger is president of the National Education Association. Wyatt T. Johnson, Jr., of California. Mr. Johnson is vice chairman of the Times-Mirror Co. Thomas H. Kean, of New Jersey. Mr. Kean is Governor of New Jersey. David T. Kearns, of Connecticut. Mr. Kearns is chief executive office of Xerox Corp. Ann Lynch, of Nevada. Ms. Lynch is president of the National Parents and Teachers Association. Modesto Maidique, of Florida. Mr. Maidique is president of Florida International University. Joe Nathan, of Minnesota. Mr. Nathan is senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. James R. Oglesby, of Virginia. Mr. Oglesby is president of the National School Boards Asso ciation. Frank H.T. Rhodes, of New York. Mr. Rhodes is president of Cornell University. Albert Shanker, of Washington, DC. Mr. Shanker is president of the American Federation of Teachers. Donald M. Stewart, of New York. Mr. Stewart is president of the College Board. Robert M. Teeter, of Michigan. Mr. Teeter is president of the Coldwater Corp. October 25 The President met at the White House with: -John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and members of the CIA briefing staff; -a group of Democratic Senators, to discuss the capital gains tax; -Secretary of State James A. Baker III; -John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President. The President announced his intention to appoint the following individuals to be members of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations for terms of 2 years: Edwin L. Artzt, of Ohio. Mr. Artzt is vice chairman of the board and president of Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati, OH. Curtis H. Barnette, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Barnette is senior vice president and director of Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Bethlehem, PA. Lawrence A. Bossidy, of Connecticut. Mr. Bossidy is vice chairman of the board of General Electric in Fairfield, CT. Donald Butler, of California. Mr. Butler is president of Shasta Foods International in Gonzales, CA. Trammell Crow, of Texas. Mr. Crow is chairman of Trammell Crow Co. in Dallas, TX. Dean R. Kleckner, of Iowa. Mr. Kleckner is president of the American Farm Bureau Federation in Park Ridge, IL. N.J. Nicholas, Jr., of New York. Mr. Nicholas is president and chief executive officer of Time, Inc., in New York City. John J. Phelan, Jr., of New York. Mr. Phelan is chairman and chief executive officer of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Lawrence R. Pugh, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Pugh is chairman and chief executive officer of VF Corp. in Wyomissing, PA. James D. Robinson III, of Connecticut. Mr. Robinson is chairman, chief executive officer, and president of the American Express Co. in New York City. George A. Schaefer, of Illinois. Mr. Schaefer is chairman and chief executive officer of Cater pillar, Inc., in Peoria, IL. Frank A. Shrontz, of Washington. Mr. Shrontz is chairman and chief executive officer of the Boeing Co. in Seattle, WA. Linda J. Wachner, of California. Ms. Wachner is president and chief executive officer of Warnaco, Inc., in New York City. Marina v. N. Whitman, of Michigan. Dr. Whitman is vice president and a group executive of the General Motors Corp. in Detroit, MI. |