[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 142 (Wednesday, November 1, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JERRY WELLER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 1, 2000

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday afternoon, October 28, 2000, I 
had a family matter to attend to in my district and I was unable to 
cast votes on two Motions to Instruct the Conferees on H.R. 4577, the 
Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Act for FY2001.
  The first Motion to Instruct the Conferees, which passed the House by 
a vote of 305-18, instructed that the highest level of funding for Low 
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) be enacted.
  Mr. Speaker, I fully support this Motion to Instruct the Conferees 
and had I been present for the vote, I would have voted yes. I have 
long been a strong supporter of the LIHEAP program. As you know, the 
LIHEAP program was fully funded in the preliminary conference agreement 
at the President's requested funding level of $1.1 billion for fiscal 
year 2001, plus an additional $300 million for emergencies. It is my 
understanding that recent negotiations on H.R. 4577 resulted in an 
additional $300 million for LIHEAP, bringing the FY 2001 total to $1.7 
billion. Additionally, Republicans have agreed to advance-fund another 
$1.4 billion for FY2002, so that States can begin to plan for next 
year. The President requested a total of only $1.1 billion for LIHEAP 
this year, therefore we are $600 million over the President's funding 
request.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I fully support the LIHEAP program and these 
increased funding levels. Had I been present, I would have voted yes on 
the Motion to Instruct the Conferees to help my constituents in Chicago 
and Chicago's South Suburbs cope with rising heating costs and the 
upcoming winter.
  The second Motion to Instruct the Conferees on H.R. 4577 failed to 
pass the House by a vote of 150-159. This motion would have instructed 
the Conferees to agree with President Clinton's proposals on classroom 
size reduction and school construction.
  Mr. Speaker, I have long been an advocate of making educating 
America's children one of our top priorities here in Congress. 
Preliminary funding levels for H.R. 4577 included more than $43 billion 
for federal education funding. This is $562 million more than the 
President requested and $5 billion more than last year. Special 
Education Grants would be funded at $6.3 billion, $1 billion over the 
President's request. Impact Aid would be funded at $1.3 billion, $258 
million more than the President's request, and $78.5 million more than 
last year. Head Start is increased $33 million over the President's 
request bringing total FY01 funding to $6.3 billion.
  Certainly, I believe that education should be a top priority, as 
should smaller classrooms and neighborhood schools that are not falling 
apart. Had I been present for the vote, I would have supported the 
motion to instruct which encourages the conferees to work with the 
bipartisan proposal on school construction and efforts being led by 
Congresswoman Nancy Johnson on this issue.

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