April 27, 1987
To the Congress of the United States:
In accordance with the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, I am transmitting the 1988 Budget of the District of Columbia Government.
There are two issues that affect both the 1988 Budget submitted to the Congress on January 5, 1987, and the 1988 Budget of the District of Columbia Government that I would like to bring to your attention. First, I want to reaffirm my concern that none of the funds appropriated for the District of Columbia should be used for abortion unless the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term. Accordingly, I will support an amendment that goes beyond Section 116 in the accompanying District of Columbia Budget request and restricts the use of both the District's Federal and locally generated funds for abortion.
Secondly, I request your support for the initiative in the 1988 Budget that requires the District Government to directly bill the Federal establishments for the water and sewer services provided. In response to the fact that the District has had the technical capacity to bill individual Federal establishments since 1985, the 1988 Budget provides for the Federal establishments to make their water and sewer payments directly to the District Government. Thus, the 1988 Budget does not include an amount in the Federal Payment to District of Columbia for water and sewer services provided. The Budget provides for Federal establishments to make these payments directly. Although I understand the Comptroller General's office has expressed doubt about this proposal, I believe that existing law permits this change in billing practice, which will produce efficiency and accountability for the services provided. I urge the Congress to enact this needed reform.
Ronald Reagan
The White House,
April 27, 1987.