Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 25 September 1996

The law, a blueprint of U.S. military spending priorities for the year beginning Oct. 1, provides money for a three percent military pay raise and for destroying thousands of nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union.

It also calls for $11 billion more spending than Clinton had sought, including $950 million for military housing and readiness and $780 million for improved National Guard and reserve artillery and rockets.

Clinton, running for re-election against Republican Bob Dole, chose to highlight the bill's domestic aspects, signing it in a White House ceremony flanked by the families of two women who were victims of stalkers.

One of the women, Sharon Wiggs, was stalked and killed by her former boyfriend's brother in 1992.

In a provision sponsored by two Republicans, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and California Congressman Ed Royce, the law makes it a federal crime for a stalker to cross state lines with the intention of harassing or injuring someone. It also makes it a crime to stalk victims on federal property, including military bases and government offices.

"Today we say loud and clear if you stalk and harrass, the law will follow you wherever you go, and if you are the victim of stalking and want to build a new life somewhere else, you will have the full protection of federal law," Clinton said.

The emphasis on anti-stalking measures fits squarely with Clinton's efforts this election year to stress issues that appeal to women, whose support for the president exceeds that by men by double-digit margins.

Nationally, Clinton holds leads of around 15 percentage points over Dole in opinion polls with six weeks left before the Nov. 5 election.

Although Congress sent Clinton a bill with more military spending than he wanted, it also stripped the legislation of several items to which he strenuously objected. These included provisions that would have undermined his policy of allowing gays to serve in the military and required the dismissal of military personnel with the virus that causes AIDS.

Known in congressional jargon as an "authorization" bill, the legislation does not actually force the administration to spend the $11 billion it did not seek. Congress first authorizes spending and then passes separate bills that "appropriate" the money for them.

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