Clinton Signs Marriage Act, Lauds GOP on Health Bill

WASHINGTON —  Sticking to his election-year theme of emphasizing what he hopes are traditional family values, President Clinton on Saturday outraged gay-rights groups by signing legislation that could alter government’s treatment of people in same-sex marriages.

Several hours later, Clinton, in his weekly radio address, praised the Republican-led Congress for agreeing to approve legislation guaranteeing a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for new mothers and requiring improved mental-health benefits from private insurance plans. The president called the two initiatives “breakthroughs for the health and security of our families.”

Clinton said forcing new mothers and their babies to leave the hospital too early is “risky and wrong.”

“And it can have severe health consequences for new babies, including feeding problems, dehydration, brain damage and stroke,” he said.

He also praised Congress for reaching preliminary agreement on the mental-health provision.

“From now on, insurance companies will have to set the same limits for mental illness that they set for physical illness--no more double standards,” Clinton said.

Republican rival Bob Dole also emphasized families in his Saturday radio address, contrasting his and Clinton’s visions of the “role that government will play in the daily lives of America’s families” and saying they “have a fundamental difference of opinion over just how large that role should be.”

“Compare the biggest idea of the Clinton administration--the plan to put the federal government in control of your health care--with the biggest idea of this campaign [a proposal to cut federal income tax rates by 15%],” Dole said.

In his address, Clinton did not refer to signing, at 12:50 a.m. EDT Saturday, the GOP-sponsored Defense of Marriage Act, which gives each state the right to decide whether it will give legal recognition to same-sex marriages. Clinton’s approval came after he returned to the White House from Brandon, S.D., the last stop of a four-day, six-state campaign trip.

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In a statement issued before he left South Dakota, Clinton said he has “long opposed governmental recognition of same-sex marriages, and this legislation is consistent with that position.” He also noted the bill “confirms the right of each state to determine its own policy” on same-sex marriage.

“This legislation does not reach beyond those two provisions,” Clinton said. “It has no effect on any current federal, state or local anti-discrimination law and does not constrain the right of Congress or any state or locality to enact anti-discrimination laws.”

Gay-rights activists voiced their displeasure with Congress and the president for enacting the law.

“The dirty little secret of this bill is that the president and most members of Congress know it’s wrong and unconstitutional,” said Matt Coles, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. “It’s one more sad example of the complete breakdown of political leadership in America.”

Times wire services contributed to this story.