The Fiscal 1996 Veterans Administration - Housing & Urban Development (VA-HUD) -- Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2099, which funds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), slashed $1.5 billion from the Agency's $7 billion budget, a larger cut than that of other major agencies funded by the bill. In addition, the bill included numerous legislative restrictions, known as "riders," which would hamper EPA's ability to carry out environmental protection. The riders ranged from narrow exemptions for water treatment facilities to broad rollbacks of clean air and water regulation. Among the riders were provisions eliminating EPA's role in protecting wetlands, prohibiting EPA from regulating arsenic in drinking water, and blocking enforcement of clean air regulations.

H.R. 2099 also cut funding in half for the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). CEQ oversees the government's compliance with environmental laws, particularly the National Environmental Policy Act.

When H.R. 2099 reached the floor of the Senate, several amendments were offered to improve the bill, but all were rejected. On September 27, 1995, the Senate approved the bill 55 - 45. NO is the pro-environment vote.

President Clinton vetoed H.R. 2099 on December 18, 1995.