[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 151 (Friday, December 8, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H12054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TIME TO COMPLETE THE BUDGET PROCESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle and would ask again that we complete this 
process and complete a bill that funds education, that funds research 
at the National Institutes of Health.
  I find this time in this session really rather extraordinary. The 
appropriations process should have been completed, my colleagues, by 
October 1. We were in the midst of an active campaign where everyone 
talked about education. Governor Bush talked about being the education 
President, talked about how important education is. And while we are 
here, holding up funding for education, talking about a billion more, a 
billion less, after there was an agreement between the chairs of the 
Committee on Appropriations on the Republican side and the ranking 
members on the Democratic side, there was an agreement to fund research 
at the National Institutes of Health, research for breast cancer, for 
Alzheimer's, for juvenile diabetes. There was an agreement to invest in 
education to create smaller class sizes, to modernize our schools, to 
increase the dollars for Pell grants to invest in education of our 
young people.
  I am really puzzled, my colleagues, how we can continue debating this 
after an agreement was reached. I do not understand how those who are 
talking about working together in a bipartisan way can renege on an 
agreement to help our children. I do not understand why Governor Bush 
does not call up his friends, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), and say, ``Let's get together, work 
in a bipartisan way, Democrats and Republicans, and pass that bill that 
the Republican chairs and the Democratic ranking member agreed on.''
  My colleagues, this is the time to complete our work. It is already 2 
months after the appropriations process should have been completed. I 
would ask my friends on the other side of the aisle to go to the 
leadership and say, the time is now, we cannot delay any longer, there 
is an agreement on the table, we did agree to invest in after-school 
programs, modernizing our schools, smaller class sizes, expanding Head 
Start, expanding child care. There was an agreement.
  I just want to say one other thing. As a Democrat, we are happy to 
reach across the aisle working with our colleagues in the 
appropriations process. No one gets everything they want, so let us get 
to work, complete this agreement, let us go home to our families and 
move on.

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