Memorandum of Disapproval
of the Department of Transportation and Federal Maritime Commission
Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 1987
I
am withholding my approval of H.R. 4175, a bill ``To
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1987 for certain maritime programs of
the Department of Transportation and the Federal Maritime Commission.''
I
am disapproving H.R. 4175 because it would not repeal the Maritime
Administration's Title XI loan program, as I proposed in the 1987 Budget. This
program is one of several Federal credit programs that I proposed to reduce or
phase out in order to limit the government's intervention in the Nation's
lending market.
Achievement
of our credit reform goals is important to the maritime industry and the
economy as a whole. The maritime industry must be encouraged to rely on the
private credit market, without Federal intervention, as its source of capital
if we are to continue our progress toward restoring that industry to full
health. Borrowers in general must be freed from the government's preemptive
allocation of credit, which forces unsubsidized borrowers to pay more for
credit and may result in some borrowers being ``crowded out'' entirely.
I
am also not approving H.R. 4175 because it would continue to authorize
appropriations for financial assistance to State maritime schools. Such an
authorization of appropriations is entirely inappropriate during this time of
necessary fiscal restraint.
Ronald
Reagan
The
White House,