Much of the 104th Congress's assault on the environment has been pursued through policy "riders" attached to spending and revenue bills necessary to keep the government operating. On December 18, 1995, President Clinton vetoed the Fiscal Year 1996 Interior Appropriations Bill, H.R. 1977, in part because of anti-environmental riders attached to it. Among the most controversial were: (1) a moratorium on listing for protection any additional threatened and endangered species; (2) a timber plan allowing excessive logging of Alaskas Tongass National Forest, one of the world's few remaining temperate rain forests; (3) an effort to nullify portions of the California Desert Protection Act by stripping away management of the Mojave National Preserve from the National Park Service; and (4) restrictions on energy efficiency and conservation programs.

To override a presidential veto, the House and Senate must each pass the vetoed legislation by a two-thirds majority of present and voting members. On January 4, 1996, the House of Representatives failed to override the Presidents veto of H.R. 1977, 239 - 177. NO is the pro-environment vote.

These provisions resurfaced in H.R. 3019, the Fiscal Year 1996 Omnibus Rescissions and Appropriations Bill, but they were either dropped during the House-Senate Conference or the President was given authority to waive them.