[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 128 (Thursday, August 3, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1607-E1608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1996

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 2, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2127) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
     Services, and Education, and related agencies, for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 1996, and for other purposes:

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I rise to commend the chairman of 
our subcommittee for his leadership on this bill under the most 
difficult of circumstances. Discretionary spending in the bill we 
consider today is $9.2 billion below the 1995 bill, a reduction of 13 
percent. This is the reduction required by the allocation given our 
subcommittee under the direction of the House Budget Committee.
  Needless to say, our subcommittee was required to make some very 
difficult decisions and to establish spending priorities for fiscal 
year 1996. The criteria we used emphasized programs that work well, 
provide the maximum return on our investment in them, and save lives. 
We also sought to make better use of Federal funds by eliminating or 
consolidating duplicative or ineffective programs to provide maximum 
program dollars and minimum bureaucratic overhead. In all, 170 programs 
were terminated in the bill.
  High priority was given to continued funding for the National 
Institutes of Health, which received $642 million or 5.7 percent over 
the 1995 level. NIH remains the preeminent biomedical research program 
of its kind anywhere in the world. Our investment in unlocking the 
mysteries of many diseases and determining effective and lifesaving 
treatments is repaid many times over in lower health care costs, a 
higher quality of life, and a cure for many diseases for which there 
was no successful treatment just a few years ago.
  We have made great strides in the war on cancer, heart disease, 
stroke, diabetes, mental illness, and other diseases that rob the young 
and old of valuable years of life and leave many disabled and 
suffering. As with any battle when we are so close to victory on many 
fronts, now is not the time to retreat from our commitment to remain 
the world leader in this field.
  One area of special interest where a small but continuing investment 
by our committee over the past few years has paid off is the National 
Marrow Donor Program. Through advances in research sponsored by NIH, 
doctors and researchers determined that unrelated bone marrow 
transplants were just as effective as related bone marrow transplants 
in curing patients diagnosed with leukemia or any one of 60 other fatal 
blood disorders. The problem, however, was the lack of access to a 
large pool of prospective unrelated individuals who might have matching 
bone marrow for patients in need of transplants. With the great 
diversity in the genetic makeup of people, the chances of finding a 
matched bone marrow donor range from 1 in 20,000 to 1 in a million.
  Having brought the need for a national registry of potential bone 
marrow donors to the attention of our committee in 1986, I am proud to 
say that my colleagues have provided support to me in this effort every 
step of the way. The result of this effort is a program that is a true 
medical miracle which is saving lives every day throughout our Nation 
and around the world.
  The National Marrow Donor Program now maintains a registry of 1.7 
million prospective donors and is growing at a rate of 36,000 donors 
per month. My colleagues may recall that early in my search for a home 
for the national registry, some Federal officials told me we would 
never recruit more than 50,000 volunteers who were willing to donate 
their bone marrow to a complete stranger.
  We proved them wrong and in doing so have given a second chance at 
life to thousands of men, women, and children and the numbers are 
growing. As the registry continues to grow so do the number of 
transplants. More importantly, we have given hope to thousands of 
families who otherwise would have faced the prospect of certain death 
for a loved one.
  Our committee has included in the bill $15,360,000 for the continued 
operations of the national registry under the oversight of the Health 
Resources and Services Administration. Responsibility for the registry 
was transferred last year from NIH to HRSA. The U.S. Navy also 
continues to play a leading role in providing operational support and 
direction to the program with additional funding made available by our 
Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security.
  Other small, but significant programs supported by our subcommittee 
likewise save lives. The Emergency Medical Services Program for 
Children celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and we have included 
$10 million to continue its operations. These funds increase public 
awareness and train health care professionals for the unique emergency 
medical needs of acutely ill and seriously injured children. Forty 
States have now established training programs to improve the quality of 
care available for children. The leading cause 

[[Page E 1608]]
of death for them continues to be accident and injury.
  Children in the United States also continue to be at risk from 
illness due to the lack of timely immunizations, which can prevent 
diseases such as measles, mumps, and whooping cough. Unbelievably, our 
Nation continues to rank far below many lesser developed nations in the 
immunization rate for children. Our committee remains concerned about 
this problem and has consistently provided additional resources for 
childhood immunization programs. Again this year, we fulfill this 
commitment with increased funding to procure and distribute vaccines 
through public health centers and clinics.
  We have made a significant investment in this bill in other areas of 
preventive health care. Funding is increased for the Centers for 
Disease Control to continue its breast and cervical cancer screening 
program, its surveillance for chronic and environmental diseases, 
screening for lead poisoning, tuberculous and infectious diseases, and 
for education and research activities to prevent injuries.
  In another area of the bill, our committee maintained its commitment 
to the Social Security Program. For the first time, our committee has 
provided funding to a newly, independent Social Security 
Administration. Our bill includes $5.9 billion for the administrative 
costs of the program, a $300 million increase over the 1995 level, this 
despite the severe constraints faced by our committee.
  This increase will enable the Social Security Administration to 
continue to make the investments necessary to automate agency 
operations based on a strategic plan that will improve the quality and 
efficiency of services. It will also allow for improvement in the 
processing of disability cases and in providing face-to-face phone 
service.
  This reaffirmation of our support for Social Security sends a message 
that we strongly support the program, its almost 50 million current 
beneficiaries, and the countless millions of current contributors to 
the program who are future beneficiaries. We recognize the need to 
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Social Security service 
delivery.
  Mr. Chairman, we have had to make many difficult decisions in the 
preparation of this legislation, but we have clearly defined some high 
priority areas in which the Federal Government must maintain its 
leadership responsibilities. This was not an easy task and it is one 
that will continue as this legislation moves through the House, Senate, 
and into conference.


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