The Nation : President Signs $18-Billion Energy Bill

President Reagan signed an $18-billion energy and water bill and commended Congress for enacting the measure promptly and holding spending to levels acceptable to the Administration. Reagan, vacationing at his ranch near Santa Barbara, said in a statement that the bill had been submitted to him earlier in the year than any other appropriations bill since he took office in 1981. He urged the lawmakers to act quickly on the remaining 12 appropriations bills. The bill is the first regular spending measure to get Reagan’s signature since December, 1985. In recent years, appropriations bills have been lumped together in catchall emergency spending measures enacted at the end of the fiscal year. The bills are being enacted separately this year as a result of last fall’s deficit-reduction agreement between Reagan and congressional leaders that decided in advance the overall spending levels for military, foreign aid and domestic agency programs.